


Midnight Doesn't Last Forever

by ghostystarr



Series: Midnight-verse [1]
Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, Post-Blood of Olympus, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-08
Updated: 2015-01-14
Packaged: 2018-02-20 15:52:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 38,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2434430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostystarr/pseuds/ghostystarr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"So come and watch the sunset with me?"  Solangelo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Deutsch available: [Midnight Doesn't Last Forever [autorisierte Übersetzung]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3937426) by [AnnaOnTheRainbow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaOnTheRainbow/pseuds/AnnaOnTheRainbow)



> So I started shipping Solangelo the moment their hands touched. I’ve pretty much lived in the Solangelo tag for three days. If I don’t write this I’ll soon lose my ability to communicate like a normal human being. Literally, as soon as I read Nico’s description of Will it felt like Rick Riordan had just slapped me across the face with a new OTP. Anyways, here's some self-indulgent Solangelo. :3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which bets are made and lost.

Nico took a deep breath, steadying himself. It had been a long time since he even attempted using any of his powers. How could he have with Jason, Annabeth, and Will constantly breathing down his neck? He was barely able to go to the bathhouse without being followed. It was frustrating and unnecessary but mostly it was, well, kind of nice. He simply wasn’t used to the extra attention was all, and, even though most days he wanted to slip away from all of the forced-upon campfire songs and beach days, he knew that when Jason or someone asked to hang out that they really _wanted_ to. And that felt pretty good.

Chiron made Nico sit out of the first two capture the flag games, much to his chagrin. “Sorry,” Chiron had said in a tone that was quite the opposite, “but I’ve been firmly told you are not to exert yourself until you’ve been deemed fit enough.” He glanced at Nico with a sly grin. “ _Doctor’s orders.”_

Immediately, Nico’s head snapped around to where Will Solace was gearing up for the games. Nico’s eye twitched at the hearty laugh that slipped past Will’s lips at something another Apollo camper said. Nico crossed his arms. “I see,” he ground out through his teeth and marched in Will’s direction. Chiron raised an amused eyebrow but said nothing.

When he was close enough, Nico yanked a shield out of Will's reach. “Hey!” Will cried, spinning around with a scowl until he meet Nico’s stormy eyes. The look simmered down to mild annoyance. “Oh. It’s just you.”

 _Just me?_ Nico thought furiously.  “What the actual hell are you playing at?” he spat out. “Telling Chiron I can’t participate tonight?”

Will’s blue eyes went firm and unrelenting. “Uh, yeah, remember how you almost died? You need a break.”

“I am _fine.”_

“Yeah, well, I’m the medic around here so…”

“And what’s with that anyways? ‘ _Doctor’s orders’,”_ he hissed with gestured air quotes. “Is that some sort of pathetic catchphrase?”

“It means that _I_ am ordering _you_ to take it easy until I say so.” Will raised his chin a bit, making their height difference _that_ much more noticeable. It pissed Nico right off. “And right now, Death Boy, I don't say so.  Sit this one out.”

“I hope you impale yourself with your own sword,” Nico growled, dropped the shield to the dirt, and stalked off.

“And don’t even think about shadow-traveling out of here, di Angelo!” Will called after him. “I have spies all over camp!”

Nico’s only response was an angry hand gesture over his shoulder.

The next week, Will pulled the same stunt. “Look, one more week isn’t going to kill you,” was his excuse, “but over exerting yourself might.”

“Jason and Percy are playing!” Nico countered.

Will seemed to tense at the mention of the son of Poseidon. “Well, if it makes you feel better I’ll let you sit around and watch as I win.”

Nico scoffed and cursed and protested that he had no interest in doing such a thing, but when the horn blew and signaled the start of the game, and Will joined the rest of his cabin with a strange sort of salute and a knowing grin, Nico found himself planted on a rock next to Chiron, observing the events of the game. He watched, with absolutely _no interest whatsoever_ as Will snuck up behind Percy and snagged the flag while he was distracted by something the Stolls had set on fire. The Apollo cabin cheered and Will spun around, meeting Nico’s gaze and grinning cockily. It was lucky Nico hadn’t raise the dead right then and there.

By the third week, Will had no excuses left. Nico had passed each and every physical exam that had been thrown upon him. Even Chiron couldn’t find a reason for Nico not to compete. When the centaur said as much to Will, Nico had thrown him a gloating glare and was surprised when Will didn’t look as angry as he’d thought. Instead, he had looked almost worried.

As Nico geared up, replaying Jason’s plan in his head again – the Roman wouldn’t let him forget his promise to be a team – Will approached him. “Nico.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Come here to talk trash? Isn’t there a law that says all Apollo kids have to turn all their threats into a haiku?”

Will shook his head. “N-no, that’s… not why I’m here.”

Nico raised an eyebrow. “Come to apologize, then?”

Will glared. “Not even close, Doom and Gloom, but… ah… it’s just…” Will’s sudden nervousness made Nico nervous, too. “Just promise you'll go easy on yourself.” His blue eyes lifted from the ground. “No shadow-travelling. No raising dead guys. No Underworld-y stuff.” What was this guy playing at? First, he forced Nico into the infirmary for three days after they’d defeated Gaea and Octavian. Second, he practically babysat him and got the other campers to join in in some ‘make Nico fat’ scheme. He couldn’t leave the dining hall without first eating at least two full plates. His stomach couldn’t take much more of it.  Then, he repeatedly sabotaged Nico's chances of doing any normal camper stuff.  Now, he was pulling the concerned friend card?

"Why should I promise you anything?"

"Because we're friends?" Will tried.

Nico snorted.  "You have a funny way of showing that, Solace."

"Nico," Will said sternly.  Nico's gaze dropped to the ground.  "Don't make me pull out my catchphrase."

For some odd reason, Nico found himself fighting against a smile.  "Fine. I don't need my powers to kick your sorry ass anyways."

Will grinned.  "Wanna bet?"

"Terms?"

"If I win," he hummed, "then you have to help me in the infirmary for a full day.  Snacks and sodas.  Cutting bandages.  Whatever I say."

Nico scowled.  "You want me to be a _nurse."_

Will blinked, cheeks a bit pink. "Um."

"But if _I_ win," Nico cut across, hoping to dissolve a bit of the awkward tension, "then you have to stop babying me.  I'm not a little kid, Solace."

Will scoffed.  "I know you're not.  There's a difference between babying and worrying, Zombie Breath."

"So we've got a deal?"

Will straightened up, puffing out his chest a little, and held out a hand.  "Deal!"

After a moment's hesitation, Nico reached forward and shook Will's hand.  That time he was prepared for it; the little zap of nerves that electrified his system.  Though, that didn't make it any more comfortable.  When it became apparent that Will had no intention of letting go, Nico yanked his hand away.  "Now, buzz off and let me get ready, won't you?"

Will blinked again and crossed his arms.  "Right, right.  But, I mean it.  No undead business.  If I see you use your powers - which I WILL if you do - then it's an automatic win for me.  I think we might have some black scrubs somewhere around here."

Nico groaned.  "Go _away."_

With a bright laugh, the son of Apollo retreated, leaving Nico to glare at his back. His unnaturally broad back.

Nico quickly spun back around, picked up his black sword, and mentally scolded himself for no clear reason at all.

 .

The plan was simple.  Jason had all but drilled it into his head.  "We just gotta beat Piper!" he declared with gusto.  Nico couldn't roll his eyes enough at the daft, albeit determined, look on his friend's face.

When the horn blew, and the match started, Nico held up his end of the plan and set himself up as a decoy so Jason could sneak past the line of Aphrodite kids that were blockading the path.  He kept one eye ahead of him and the other around his surroundings.  So far, he hadn't seen hide or hair of a particular Apollo son or heard any lame haikus in the distance. Coast was clear.

After all he'd been through, capture the flag seemed juvenile and irrelevant.  It really didn't measure up to real combat or battle, that level of nerve-shaking intensity or inescapable fear.  He wasn't here just to play camp games or fool himself into thinking he was honing his skills.  Really, he just wanted to prove that he wasn't weak or hurt, that he was just as strong as he had been before.  He didn't want those worried glances anymore.  Jason gave him them.  Percy, Annabeth, and Piper all had them.  Will Solace acted like he was already dead most days.

A twig snapped, sharp and distinct, behind him.

Cursing under his breath, Nico ducked behind a tree.  He was being followed.  He would never hear the end of it if he let Jason's plan fail, so he readied his sword and waited for his stalker to show themself.  He quickly went through his preferred methods of combat and chose his new approach.  _Kick 'em in the groin,_ Hazel's voice declared in his head. It was a method that had certainly gotten results. When the unknown camper was in range, Nico spun out of the shadows to do just that.  He hadn't expected for the other camper to dodge as if he'd been anticipating it and try to trip him.  "Hey!" Will cried angrily.  "Two minutes in and already trying to kill me?"

"How did you find me so quickly?"

"Easy." Will grinned. "I just went to the darkest part of the woods. I figured you'd be lurking somewhere around here."

"And so you just decided to stalk me?"

"I'm making sure you hold up to your end of the deal."

"Don't trust me?"

Will gave him an unamused glare, arms crossed.

Nico's shoulders sank.  "Okay. Point taken."

Will laughed what Nico thought was too loudly.  He jumped and scanned their surroundings to see if they'd been heard.  Gods, that be just what he needed.  Getting caught alone in the woods with Will freaking Solace.  He glared at the healer, but Will just smiled.  "Jeez, you're so quick to assume the worst, you know that?"

Nico's head tilted to one side in confusion.

"I trust you, dingus."

"You do?"  Nico's tone was flat, disbelieving.

"Yeah." Will shrugged and sat down on a fallen log, sword abandoned at his feet, completely vulnerable.  "I told you before. You're dense but you're not stupid. I think deep down you know that using your powers right now would do you more bad than good."

Nico looked around.  He almost wished someone would find them.  It would at least save him from the awkwardness of the situation.  "Don't you have a flag to find?" he muttered.

"Ah, I'm supposed to be scouting."

Nico frowned.  "Scouting? Wait. You didn't mean to find me at all, did you?"

Will's smile was shameless.  "Does it matter?"  Nico didn't answer, but Will didn't seem to mind.  "Besides, are you really that surprised?  This is the second time I've found you."

Nico's cheeks felt hot.  "So?"

"Nothing. I'm just saying it's kinda becoming a thing."

The mere _mention_ of having any kind of _thing_ with Will Solace was enough to make Nico's entire face erupt into a violent blush.  He huffed and crossed his arms, diverting his gaze before those blue eyes could meet it.  "That's dumb."

"You're dumb."

"Nice comeback.  Get that from your dad?"

"Around the same time you inherited your dad's impeccable sense of humor."

They glared at each other for a few silent moments, but it broke when Will smiled tauntingly.  Before he could stop it, Nico's lips twitched upwards.  He looked away in an attempt to hide it, but the damage had been done.  Will laughed his loud laugh again.  Before Nico could yell at him or insult him or even laugh back, there was a large, sudden gust of wind.  He spun around and immediately it felt like his stomach had been kicked.

 Directly behind Will, a dark figure was reaching out for him, and it was not friendly.  For a moment of pure panic, Nico froze, and then shouted out a warning. Will's face went wide with alarm before an arm closed around his neck.  Nico immediately raised a hand, ready to strike down whatever it was, memories of years of battle flashing to the front of his mind, ready to open a chasm right beneath the intruder's feet.

"You're open!" a familiar voice laughed out, and Nico quickly dropped his arms at his sides, stunned, as another Apollo kid - one of Will's little brothers - playfully tacked Will, who pretended to scream and flail about, begging for mercy as the younger child laughed and 'attacked'.  Nico felt immediately ashamed of himself.  He'd almost unleashed half of Hell on that little kid.

"You got me, you got me!" Will chuckled, ruffling the kid's hair and grinning.  "Shouldn't you be with the rest of the cabin?"

 _"You_ left without permission!" he accused.  Will's cheeks turned pink and he slipped a hand over his little brother's mouth before looking at Nico in horror to see if he'd heard.  Nico had, but he was still reeling from his almost grave mistake to really care.

"Y-yeah, well, I'm the leader!" Will said quickly. "And I told you to stay put while I scouted!"

"You didn't say anything about scout - _mmph!"_

A moment later, Jason burst out of the brush, waving the flag around his head.  "WE WON!" he was chanting.  Nico had never wanted to melt into the shadows so badly before in his life.

.

The next day, Nico was too down on himself to leave his cabin.  He stayed in bed, replaying that moment again and again.  He'd almost used his powers on a kid.  Sure, he had thought it was a monster, or a real enemy, or _something_.  But the rage he'd felt then was supposed to be distinguished by now.  Maybe staying at Camp Half-Blood really was a mistake.  How could someone like him belong anywhere for long?

Jason and Piper stopped by to kick him out of bed and get lunch.  The whole time, Nico refused to even glance at the Apollo table.  He swore he could feel Will's eyes on him.  He wolfed down his food, excused himself, and left before Will even had a chance to approach him.  He really didn't care what Will thought of him, he told himself.  He didn't need his approval or anything.  So why did Nico worry about it?

For the rest of the day, Nico stayed inside.

The day after that, Percy and Annabeth dragged him to breakfast.  Nico knew Annabeth could sense his discomfort but thankfully she knew better than to push.  Percy sat close to her and avoided much eye contact.  Almost a week after Nico confessed, things were still delightfully awkward between them.  Nico had anticipated that, but at least Percy still didn't mind being seen with him.  In fact, Percy seemed to be getting more and more comfortable around him.  Even so, Nico was a little relieved when Percy announced he was going for a swim and left.

"You all right?" Annabeth asked as soon as her boyfriend was gone.

Nico hesitated.  He'd spent a long time trying to hate Annabeth, but now there they were eating breakfast together.  She was trying to reach out, as if handing Nico a shovel to bury the hatchet between them. She was probably the smartest person he knew and she wouldn't sell him out either.  He sighed and relented.  "I almost did something really bad."

Annabeth's face turned serious.  "Want to talk about it?"

Nico shrugged.  "There's not much to say.  During capture the flag the other night, Will and I were talking.  I saw a shadow reach out behind Will and I... I freaked."

"Freaked as in?"

"I almost... went dark on Will's little brother."

Annabeth mouthed, "Oh." Then said, "But you didn't."

"If I hadn't caught myself in time..."

"But you did."

"I should know better."

"You do.  I'm serious.  You wouldn't have hurt anyone unless you had to.  It sounds like an honest mistake.  Happens to us all the time.  I swear, I've almost gutted Percy at least half a dozen times."

Nico allowed himself a wry smile.  "I'm pretty sure we've all daydreamed about that once or twice."

Annabeth laughed.  Then her eyes sparkled with an understanding charm.  "So... what were Will and you doing alone in the woods?"

Nico stared at her for a few moments and then left the table without another word.

.

Why was it so hard to open the door?

He replayed the scene in his head again and again, but when it came time to put it into action, he froze.  _You went through Tartarus,_ Nico chastised himself, _and you can't even go into your own camp's infirmary?_

He took a deep breath, raised his hand, and froze again.

Fortunately, the door swung open, saving him from his silent agony. Unfortunately, Will Solace walked out with a bag slung over his shoulder.  He saw Nico, dark and looming in front of him, and jumped back.  "SHIT!" he gasped and recovered, shoulders sinking and hand over his heart. "Gods, Nico, you scared the crap out of me!"

"Sorry," Nico said too quickly.

Will glanced up, eyes uncertain.  "What're you doing here?"

Even though the tone was curious and not upset, Nico still flinched.  "The bet," he muttered weakly.  "I guess I sort of... lost, so..."

Will raised an eyebrow. "But Jason got the flag.  You won."

Nico blew a piece of his hair out of his eyes.  Nothing was ever easy when Will was involved.  " _I_ didn't really win. It was all Jason. The bet was that _I_ would get the flag.  So... I guess I owe you another day in the infirmary."  He risked a glance up.  "If you, yanno, still want me."

A beat of painful silence passed between them before Will broke into a smile so bright it practically hurt to see.  "Well, how can I say no to free labor?" he laughed out.  Nico almost smiled back.  "But, first thing's first," Will said, eyeing Nico's clothing, "we need to find you something less... depressing."

Nico scowled.  "What's wrong with the way I dress?"

"Oh, absolutely nothing!" Will said earnestly.  "Just that, well, some of my patients might think you're the Grim Reaper."

Nico had made a huge mistake coming here. Maybe he'd even made a mistake staying at camp at all.  But when Will smiled like that, Nico found it hard to care.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we see Will in his natural habitat.

Will didn’t think he had ever seen anything more amusing than Nico holding a bright pink shirt away from him like it would spew sparkles and rainbows at any moment. The look he gave Will was absolutely adorable - in that grumpy, murderous kind of way. Will was having trouble keeping the smile from his face. Sometimes it was just too much fun to fluster the son of Hades. “Well?”

Nico’s nose wrinkled. “I’m not wearing this.”

“It’s the only one small enough to fit you.” He shrugged and gestured to the pink scrub. “Besides, I think it suits you.”

Nico threw the shirt at him. “And I think a black eye might suit you,” he grumbled under his breath, but there was no bite. Will had come to learn a few things about Nico di Angelo these past few days. Mainly, Nico put up a tough front but his emotions were as transparent as the shadows he hid in.

Will just snorted and put a thoughtful finger to his chin. “Let’s see… I might actually have an old nurse’s uniform somewhere stowed away in here from last Halloween!” He watched as Nico’s face turned from disgust to horror. “Matching hat and everything.”

At that point, Nico’s cheeks were bright red. He snatched the pink scrubs from Will again. “Give me that!” he growled and stomped away, muttering curses in Ancient Greek the whole way. Will’s sides hurt from laughing, imagining Nico in the outfit, and almost immediately the laughter died.  Because the mental picture of Nico in a nurse's uniform wasn’t horrible.  Actually, it was kind of - He quickly shook his head, jumbling the disturbing thoughts away. Right then was seriously _not_ the time. Not when Nico was in just the other room, dressing.

After a few awkward minutes, Nico walked back in and Will’s attention was suddenly transfixed. “I look ridiculous.”

Oh, that couldn’t have been further from the truth. It didn’t matter if it was the darkest black or the brightest pink, any color Nico wore looked _good._ Seeing him in medical clothing did something strange to his heart but he ignored it. Instead, he burst into laughter. “You look like Strawberry Shortcake going through a punk stage!”

Nico gritted his teeth and crossed his arms at the hem of the offending scrubs. “I’m taking it off.”

“No, no!” Will said too quickly, holding up his hands in defeat as he caught his breath. “I’m just joking. It seriously doesn’t look that bad.”

“ _That_ bad,” Nico huffed.

“It’s either that or the nurse’s uniform.” Will raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Or, of course, you could go without anything at all.”

Nico sputtered incoherently and gave Will a disbelieving look. “Shut up! I get it! I’ll wear the damn shirt!”

Will gave a content smile and quickly ushered the other boy out of the room.

For the rest of the afternoon, Nico followed Will all over camp, helping with all sorts of things. They checked in on Mellie and her newborn satyr, who was very fussy and didn’t seem to want Will to hold him at all. “Here, Nico, hold him for a sec, will you?” Will handed Nico the baby. “I wanna check on Mellie.”

“What? Whoa, wait, Will, I don’t think—” The baby gave a little hiccup and Nico jumped. Will watched in disbelief as the baby settle down and began to drift to sleep. Something in Nico’s stormy eyes softened.

Will turned around so Nico couldn’t see his broad smile.

After that, they patched up the Stoll brothers who had injured themselves yet again doing something that Will didn’t even want to know about. “It was his fault!” Connor accused.

“Oh, sure, like I knew aerosol cans were explosive!” Travis huffed.

Will held up his hands to silence them. “Look, I just don’t care anymore. Nico, hand me that blue bottle.”

Nico gave the brothers a shy look before handing Will a little bottle. The reaction was simultaneous. Connor and Travis both sat straight up, blinking. “Wait… that’s Nico?”

“Oh my gods! It _is!”_

“Aw, lookie how cu— _OW._ Will, what the Hades was that for?”

“Sorry,” Will said cheerfully, holding the bottle of disinfectant close to the cut on Connor’s leg. “Have to clean the wound.” He gave a sharp look at Travis, who seemed to get the hidden message. Neither of them made any more comments about Nico’s outfit.

If Nico had noticed, he never said anything.

“Okay, next,” Will said after he’d sent the brothers off, “I want to check on Blackjack. I don’t really know anything about pegai, but I might be able to help the wound heal quicker.”

Nico just shrugged and they went off in the direction of the stables. When they got there, they found Percy Jackson having what looked to be a pretty deep conversation with the wounded winged-horse. Will cleared his throat to make their presence known, not noticing that Nico lagged farther and farther behind. “Oh, hey, Will” Percy greeted. “What’s up?”

“Just thought I’d lend a hand,” Will said with a shrug and crouched down beside Blackjack, who let out a huff of air in what Will presumed was a greeting.

“He’s says he appreciates it.” Percy grinned and spotted Nico lingering close to the wall, picking at the straps of a saddle idly. “Um, hey, Nico.”

Nico gave a nod in his direction and went back to pretending to be completely interested in the leather saddle. Will glanced between Percy and Nico, picking up on the awkwardness that seemed to be pushing them apart. He wondered what had happened to drive such a wedge, but the thoughts he came up with left a bitter taste in his mouth so he decided to concentrate on helping Blackjack.

After a few more minutes of digging his shoe in the dirt, Percy announced that he was hungry and was going to go find Annabeth. Will gave a chipper goodbye, but couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved that he’d gone. Nico seemed to relax a bit, too.  He came over to sit on an overturned bucket beside Will. “Can I help at all?” he asked nervously, as if he wasn’t sure if he should’ve said anything.

Will smiled. “Actually, I’m going to change his bandages. Would you mind cutting them for me?”

Nico nodded and rose again to dig in the bag of supplies. Will hummed to himself as he removed the old ones. It was one of the quirks that came with being a son of Apollo. Once a tune got stuck in his head, it would be near impossible to get it out unless he let it play. Unfortunately, his skills as a medic were much better than his musical talents. Nico didn’t ever tell him to shut up, though, so that was good.

Once all the old bandages were gone and Will made sure nothing looked infected, he held his hand expectantly for a roll of new ones. As Nico handed him it, their fingers brushed, and Will almost fell right off of his own bucket. _Cold._ Nico had the same embarrassed look on his face, meaning he’d felt that same jolt. Their eyes meet for the briefest moment, but both were quick to look away. Will noticed his fingers were shaking slightly and forced himself to concentrate. Blackjack gave a snort. Will didn’t need to be a son of Poseidon to hear the message. _Jeez, get a room, you two._

_._

By the time they called it a day, the sun was already beginning to set. Will was laughing at something Nico had said. It was a dry, sarcastic remark, probably aimed to be an insult, but it was so unexpected that Will couldn't help but laugh. Nico looked surprised, but there was a little smile hanging on his thin lips. Will supposed Nico looked nicer when he smiled. Even with ridiculous shirts.

“All right, I guess you’re free,” Will said as they reached the dining pavilion. “Thanks for all the help. Hope it wasn’t too dull for you.”

Nico shrugged. “It wasn’t that bad.”

Will huffed. “Well, I know it doesn’t beat summoning zombies or whatever it is those crazy Hades kids are doing these days.”

Nico shook his head. “No, I actually… didn’t mind. It was kind of nice helping out.”

Will resisted the urge to ruffle Nico’s long black hair. He was naturally a touchy-feely person, but he knew that was a big ole no-go on Nico's end. Will had witnessed when Jason Grace made the tragic mistake of wrapping an arm around his neck jokingly during breakfast. Nico had firmly planted his elbow into the other boy’s gut.  Judging from the speed Jason had plopped down to the table, Will didn’t want to be on the receiving end of Nico’s wrath. Ever.

So, instead of pushing his luck like he really wanted to, he just scratched his cheek pointlessly and shrugged. “Well, there’s always stuff to do around this camp. People injure themselves constantly. I could always use an extra set of hands.”

Nico raised an eyebrow. “Me?”

Will sniffled indignantly. “Why not?”

“Wouldn’t that make some people… uncomfortable?”

“You do know I was only joking about the whole ‘Grim Reaper’ thing, right?”

Nico didn’t confirm or deny it. He shuffled his weight from foot to foot and kept his gaze fixated on the grass. “Right, if I’m going to do this then I’m going to do it on my terms.”

Will crossed his arms, looking down at the defiant glare on the shorter boy’s face. “And who says you get terms?”

“I do,” Nico huffed, acting more like himself, which relieved Will immensely. Cranky Nico he could handle. Sarcastic Nico he could put up with. But that self-incriminating, pouting Nico was something he couldn’t deal with. “And I get to wear my own clothes.”

“Protocol says you’ve gotta wear scrubs.”

“Protocol that you’ve written.”

Will chuckled. “I’m the head of the Apollo cabin. You think I’d let you get away with wearing ripped jeans and a dirty shirt on my turf?  There's a reputation to uphold, here.”

Nico’s grin turned a little devious. “We’ll just see, Solace,” he said. Will’s ribs were suddenly too small. It felt like they were squeezing his chest, which was the exact opposite of what Dr. Seuss has taught him.

“F-fine,” Will said a bit breathlessly, “but _one_ complaint and you’re going in the nurse’s uniform!”

Then, for the first time all day, Nico broke into laughter.

Will’s steps felt weightless for the rest of the night.

Yeah, he liked making the son of Hades blush, but he decided that he liked making him laugh more.

.

The campfire went as all campfires go at Camp Half-Blood. Laughter, marshmallows, and music. Usually, Will would be right along with his siblings, arms wrapped around their shoulders, rocking in time with a cheesy song that they’d all be bellowing out to their heart’s content. Tonight, however, he just couldn’t find it in him to join in on the fun.

His thoughts kept going back to earlier – to when Nico seemed so at ease with Mellie’s son to when Nico’s fingers had brushed against his to how his laugh had seemed to ring in his ears for hours. Oh, gods, he had it bad, didn’t he? How had it taken him so long to realize it? Of course, he’d always known he’d had a thing for the Italian ever since the end of the last Titan War. The image of Nico fighting in Manhattan was a memory he always thought of when he needed a confidence booster. _If Nico could be that brave then you can get through this,_ was what he told himself when he volunteered for the little scouting mission.

He’d never thought the son of Hades would pop right back into his life. He’d never thought they’d be friends, either.

They were friends, right?

They spent a lot of time together and joked around and stuff, but it was hard to tell with Nico. He guessed, at the very least, Nico didn’t hate him. That was a start. A good start of something better, he hoped.

Even then, as the other campers passed around s’mores and hotdogs, Will’s eyes scanned the happy faces, looking for Nico di Angelo. It was stupid for him to think that he’d come, but, still, it would have been nice to spend more time with him…

Several other campers asked him what was wrong, or tried to rouse him into a hearty chorus of ‘ _Hey Jude’_ but Will just assured them that he was just tired and to carry on without him. It was a little after nine that Will heard a familiar voice deliver a sharp insult. He looked up at once and spotted Nico sitting next to Jason and Piper. Jason was laughing as Nico glared down at the molten marshmallow on his pants. For a moment, Will brightened up, almost tempted to walk over and tease him a bit. Nico raised his gaze and accidentally caught Will staring at him. Quickly, he put his attention back to his siblings, pretending to be interested in the song. Out of the corner of his eye, Will saw Jason lean over and whisper something in Nico’s ear. Nico jumped, bright red, and shoved him.

Will hid a scowl behind his hand. Jason kept saying whatever it was that got that flustered reaction from Nico, laughing every time Nico yelled at him, his hands moving excessively as he spoke. A few minutes later, Will decided to leave early.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’ve just had a long day,” he said, making a point not to look over at Nico and Jason. “Night, everyone.”

After goodbyes were said, he slipped past the row of campers and made his way to his cabin. He was _not_ jealous. He wasn’t! So what if Nico wanted to sit by Jason instead of him. They’d spent the whole day together anyways! It was irrational to feel like that. Will and Nico weren’t even really friends. They weren’t really anything, really.

Will plopped onto his bed.

He was so, so jealous.

.

Sometimes, Will hated that his father was the god of the sun. Most of the cabin was awake before dawn, and the rest would be up by the time the first rays of sunlight began to itch up the horizon. Will was no exception. In fact, even though he’d had a relatively sleepless night, he was the first one to wake up. He quickly took advantage of that and made his way to the bathrooms, showering and brushing his teeth without having to push his fellow Apollo campers out of the way of the mirror. Really, it could turn into a big fiasco with little effort.

After, Will decided to take a walk. The fresh air always let him clear up his thoughts. As he passed the Hades cabin, he walked a little faster. He liked Nico – that was pretty obvious. But what was he going to do about it? Was he even going to do anything about it? No, he didn’t want to scare Nico away. The kid was just getting used to having friends and being just another camper. He didn’t want to poison their relationship before it even started. _Give it time,_ he could hear his father’s voice tell him. _Just be cool._

“Cool,” he muttered to himself, nodding once. He could do that. He hoped.

It was a little after eight by the time he reached the infirmary. He still felt a little put out, but not nearly as bad as before. As long as Nico stuck around, he’d be happy. He hadn’t expected, however, the object of his thoughts to be leaning against the wall, arms crossed and expression unreadable.

Will gave a start, clutching at his chest. “Gods, di Angelo! Do you _try_ to give me a heart attack?”

Nico shrugged lazily. “Something like that,” he muttered. “Aren’t Apollo kids supposed to be up at the crack of dawn?”

Will, still recovering, gave a haughty huff. “I was. I took a walk.” He narrowed his gaze at him. “What’re you doing here so early?”

Nico shrugged again. “You seemed… off last night. I wanted to make sure you were okay.” Will was pretty sure he’d heard him wrong. _I wanted to make sure you were okay._ He blinked, just staring blankly at the other boy like he’d just grown a third arm. Nico shrank on himself a bit. “Er… I-I mean…”

Will tilted his head to one side. A little smile worked its way onto his face. “Were you worried?”

Nico just rolled his eyes.

Will chuckled. “I’m just teasing, man. I’m fine, though. I guess.”

“You guess?”

Will rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. “Yeah. I mean, it’s really nothing to worry about. It's cool, right? Why should I care about who you sit with at the campfire?” His eyes went wide as soon as the words slipped from his mouth. _Shit,_ he didn’t just say that aloud, did he?

From the look on Nico’s face, he had. Double shit. For a moment, Nico just gaped at him. Will could practically see him making the connections forming in his head. Will chewed on his lip as Nico said, “Wait… the campfire? You weren't...?" It seemed to dawn on him then.  "Did you want me to sit by you or something?"

Will scoffed, crossing his arms and looking up at the sky. “What? NO.”

“Oh my gods… Were you _jealous?”_

“No. I wasn’t.” He glared at Nico, who was grinning like he’d just heard the greatest joke in the world. “ _I wasn’t,”_ he asserted but Nico just raised his eyebrows. “Nico di Angelo, I will kick your ass, heal you, and then kick it some more,” he threatened, but Nico was already laughing. Will’s ears went red. “That’s it!” he yelled. “I’m leaving!”

“W-wait! I’m sor… I’m not laughing at you!” Nico got himself under control. "You could've just said something."

Will just rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t jealous.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” Nico walked over, still smiling. Will ignored him as they walked, trying to will the color in his cheeks to fade. He almost jumped when he felt Nico’s arm brush against his. He thought Nico would re-establish some distance between them, but he just nudged ever-so-slightly closer, just enough to make it obvious that he was initiating the touch. “So, I was thinking,” Nico said abruptly. Will glanced at him. “Scrubs wouldn’t be so bad, I guess. But I’m not wearing any pink.”

Will stared at him for a moment before breaking into a defeated smile. He ran a hand through his hair. “They might be a little big, but I think we might have a few other colors.”

Their arms pressed together just a little firmer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nico gets a few answers, but mainly more questions, and steals a hoodie.

Nico overslept.

It was something he hadn’t experienced in a very long time. Between the Labyrinth, those dark nights alone, and the endless dusk of Tartarus, Nico was used to getting little to no sleep whatsoever. Four hours was a good night for him. Even after Gaea had been defeated, the unsettled feeling still lingered in the back of his head.

 _This is too calm,_ he told himself. _This can’t last._

So, over the few weeks that followed Gaea’s defeat, Nico had kept alert. Even with Will keeping tabs on him and refusing to let him even raise a skeleton _pinky_ out of the ground, Nico would spend his nights alternating between short naps, reading crappy comic books that Jason had loaned him, and quick exercises to stay in shape – really, everyone was trying _way_ too hard to make Nico fat.

His days, however, were spent in a much more preferable manner. For the first time in a long time, Nico actually found himself looking forward to the sunrise. He liked the breakfasts with Jason and Percy. He didn’t mind the questions he’d get about his dad from the other campers. He got along with Piper and Annabeth. Camp games were still annoying, but at least his friends made it bearable. And, of course, he enjoyed hanging out with Will. They spent most days together. Mainly, they helped around the infirmary whenever someone got too loose-wristed with a bow and arrow or too mouthy at an Ares camper.

But, there were a lot of days when the camp was peaceful and barely any accidents took place, leaving Will with a free schedule. The first time Will had approached the son of Hades to ‘hang out’, Nico almost ran for it. Piper had, fortunately, been next to him and hastily blocked his escape route. He was sort of glad she did because, after a few days, it sort of became a normal thing.

It wasn’t weird if Nico walked over to the Apollo cabin or if Will came to the Hades cabin. It was all right for them to sit next to each other at campfires. They had inside jokes and they had shared interests. They were friends. Good friends.

Of course, Nico couldn’t help but wonder about whether or not ‘ _more’_ was in the equation but he couldn’t bring himself to even entertain the idea. Will couldn’t be… like him. He was far too normal. Nico had to reel in his emotions before he ruined everything. Again. He didn’t want to go through another Percy Jackson ordeal.

Despite that, almost three weeks since the Romans left, Nico felt those same butterflies in his gut each time Will smiled at him or laughed at something he said or even pointed at him and scolded him for doing something he shouldn’t have. Nico hated to admit it, but he couldn’t bring himself to disobey the son of Apollo even if he wanted to. Stupid emotions.

Hazel had been no help. She didn’t really know… about him. Nico just listened as she talked his ear off about Frank. She was really taken with the Roman, that much was obvious, but it frightened Nico to hear that she was explaining the same things that _he_ felt. Lesser, maybe, and not as strong, but it was still there.

The night before, Nico had gone down to the beach with Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Grover, Rachel, and Will after dinner for Percy’s birthday. Dinner itself had been a disaster. Nico could never see blue food again and die happily. Some things just shouldn’t be blue.

The eight of them had just really talked and hung out. Percy and Grover had been busy stewing over the “Good Ole Days” which pretty much meant before he came into the picture.

“Remember when our biggest worry was just whether or not I stole a _lightning bolt?”_ Percy had sighed. “Man, those were the days.”

Nico had rolled his eyes, muttered a few sly comments to Annabeth, and received a loud laugh in response. As the night had worn on, it became steadily chillier and Nico mourned, not for the first time, the loss of his trusty bomber jacket. It had been warm. It had been familiar. It had been the only proof he had had of once having a home.

“Cold?” Will asked.

“Not really,” he said quickly.

Will huffed. “What kind of idiot forgets a sweatshirt on a night like this?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, my choice of wardrobe is still rather limited.”

“Piper said she’d take you shopping.”

“Ugh. She might make me come out of the mall looking like _you_ , though.”

Will laughed. Their friendship had finally hit that point where they knew when they were just joking. “I guess the camp can’t have _two_ unfathomably handsome men.” Will nodded.

Nico could have flipped him off – would have – if a blue hoodie hadn’t been shoved right in his face.

“Here,” Will said authoritatively. “Wear it.”

Nico tentatively took the sweatshirt from him. He glanced at Will, who was looking determinedly in the other direction. It was too dark to see if he looked embarrassed or not. “I don’t want your dirty sweatshirt,” was all his ungrateful mouth could say. He immediately wanted to slap himself for his impulsive, nervous tick to be snippy.

Will gave him an unimpressed look. “Look. I could still make an argument that you’re recovering. So, wear the dirty sweatshirt. Doc—”

“Don’t you dare finish that statement,” Nico growled and quickly slipped Will’s hoodie over his head. It was too large; the sleeves went well past his fingers, but Nico liked it. Thankfully, it was big enough that he could hide his smile in the collar.

Will hummed approvingly and sneakily inched over so that their knees were brushing. It was such a small touch. It really shouldn’t have made Nico as woozy as it had.

Once it was deemed late enough, the group marched their way back to camp. Will looked like he wanted to say something, but Percy called his name and waved him over. Nico felt a bit anxious but walked over, forgetting what he was wearing. “Look, thanks for coming down, man,” Percy said. His green eyes flashed over to where Will was standing, watching them closely. “Oh. Sorry for, uh, interrupting anything.”

Nico looked back at Will and rolled his eyes. “You weren’t interrupting anything,” he muttered quickly and stuck his hands in the front pocket. “What’s up?”

“Okay, ah, I just wanted to let you know that I’m cool with it all, you know?” Percy put on an overly serious face and gave him a double thumbs’ up. “And I’m happy for you!”

Nico’s eyes narrowed at him. “What?”

Percy took a deep breath. “You know about the whole, um, _crush_ … thing!”

“Not _that_ part, you moron. Why exactly are you ‘happy’ for me?”

Percy smirked. “Well, yanno.” He glanced over at Will again. “Just happy.”  Nico faltered. All denials died on his tongue as his brain desperately searched for an escape route. “Anyways, I don’t mind," Percy continued. "And everything that’s happened since we met, that’s all water under the bridge, too, okay? I just wanted to clear that up.”

Nico blinked at him. “Oh.” A year ago, those words would have made Nico sit and wonder for hours what he’d meant. But now, it just finalized the fact that he was over Percy. They could start from scratch. This time as friends. He cracked a smile. “All right.”

“Right. Well, that’s all I wanted to say, really.” He grinned brightly and looked once again over at Will. “Enjoy your night!”

Nico couldn’t even bring himself to scowl. “Shut up, Jackson.” Then he added, “And, uh, happy birthday.”

Percy gave him a high-five. “Thanks, man. See you tomorrow, yeah?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Percy said goodbye, waved to Will with that dumb grin again, dodged a kick from Nico, and ran to meet up with Annabeth. Their hands found each other’s as they walked back to camp, but Nico didn’t really pay attention to that. He was already starting to walk back to Will.

“Hey, Solace,” Jason said as he passed. “Curfew is in fifteen minutes, just so you know. I can see the Apollo cabin from mine,” he added in a threatening tone and leaned in a bit closer. “So, you know, I’ll know if anyone, say, doesn’t come back or, maybe, sneaks out.”

“Grace!” Nico yelled back, blushing a bright red, and proceeded to chase him up the hill.

By the time he got back to his cabin, he realized he was still wearing Will’s hoodie. Whoops. He’d have to give it back tomorrow. The lingering scent of soap and coffee in the hoodie's collar made it impossible to get the other boy out of his head. He wasn’t sure how it happened exactly but, somewhere between seeing Will pop out of the bushes with war paint on his cheeks and running around camp with bandages and ambrosia, Will had wormed his way into his thoughts and it was obvious that he wasn’t departing from them soon.

He fell asleep with his face buried in his pillow, and had the fullest, most restful night’s sleep he’d had since the 30's. No dreams, no nightmares, no worries. Just a tiny smile on his face and sweet nothingness.

He only woke up before noon because someone was banging on his door. He groaned and nestled closer to his sheets for a moment. Then, his internal clock kicked on and his eyes snapped open. He immediately climbed out of bed and stumbled like a zombie to the door. Lazily, he reached out and opened it just an inch, grimacing when the harsh sunlight flooded the cabin and stung his eyes.

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty!” Jason sang loudly, making Nico groan and plug his ears. Jason laughed. “Were you still asleep? It’s eleven-thirty! You missed breakfast and everything! We were—are you still wearing Will’s sweatshirt?”

Nico was fully awake in an instant. He glanced down at himself then up at Jason and immediately began trying to push the door closed, but Jason was keeping it open with little effort. “Oh my gods,” he was laughing. “You’ve got it _bad!”_

“Shut up.”

“Aw...”

“I swear on the river Styx, Grace, if you don’t shut your face right now…”

“You’ll what? Tell on me?”

“No,” Nico huffed, giving up his attack on the door, “but I’d imagine having a skeletal foot up your ass wouldn’t be too much of a pleasant experience.”

Jason was holding his sides from laughter. His glasses almost slipped off his nose. Instead of raising the dead, Nico delivered a sharp punch to his shoulder. He grinned when Jason gave a sharp, “Ow!” and rubbed the area carefully. “Damn.” Nico just raised his chin a bit and marched over to his dresser to get dressed for the day. Jason let himself in. “I was just joking around, Nico. Seriously, that’s going to bruise!”

“Serves you right.”

Jason snorted and sat down on one of the empty beds as Nico threw off the incriminating hoodie. He already missed its warmth. “All right, I’m being serious here. What _is_ up with Will and you?”

Nico crossed his arms. “Nothing. Drop it.”

“Uh, there’s _something_ and I’m not gonna drop it!” Jason frowned. “I’m not a dog.”

“That’s debatable.”

“Fine, then. Be difficult. Piper’s just gonna ask you the same questions, you know.”

“Why are you guys so interested in this? We’re friends. Is that so weird? For me to have friends?”

Jason sighed. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. I just… you can _talk about it_ , you know. To me. I’m sure Piper and Annabeth would be more than happy to put in a good word for you.”

“Oh, gods, I should have stayed in bed.”

Jason just laughed.

.

Nico didn’t see Will all day, which kind of sucked. He went to the Apollo cabin to return the sweatshirt but the other Apollo kids said he’d gone to the infirmary already. He left the hoodie there and went to get lunch, hoping to catch him on break. He wasn’t there either. Afterwards, he made his way to the infirmary but everyone there said he’d just left and didn’t say where he was going. Feeling deflated, Nico walked over to the fields to train a bit. He sparred with the few that had gotten over their fear of him the last few weeks and by the time he went off to the bathhouse it was nearly sunset.

 _It’s fine,_ he told himself. _It’s not like we have to hang out every day._

Still, the nagging voice in his head wouldn’t shut up. _What if he’s embarrassed from yesterday?_ he thought worriedly. _Damn you, Jason._

That night, he had terrible nightmares.

On the nights that the awful dreams wouldn’t stop, Nico always went for a walk. The starry night sky always used to comfort him in a weird way, but, now, he could only think about how he’d much rather be seeing a sunrise. He wanted day to come back. He wanted to see Jason and threaten him when he was a jerk, and pretend to be interested in whatever gossip Piper tried to tell him, and spar with campers that weren’t afraid of him, and help Will with whatever just to spend some more time with him. He wanted to step out of the shadows. Only, after being in them for so long, he wasn’t exactly sure how.

He found a good spot and sat, uncaring of the dew, and waited, lost in thought.

Just as the horizon began to brighten, Will found him.

“You haven’t been sitting out here all night, have you?”

Nico gave a start and glanced up at the taller boy, who had a firm frown on his face and his hands on his hips. Nico’s cheeks grew a little warm when he realized Will was wearing the hoodie Nico had returned. He could practically see the list of medical concerns running across Will’s dark eyes, and really wasn’t in a mood for a lecture – not another one – so he merely shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep.”

Will didn’t make a smart remark about how sleep was a vital function of the human body nor did he scold him for sitting in the cold for hours. Instead, he just plopped down next to him and whispered, “Yeah. Me neither.”

For the first time, Nico noticed the dark circles under Will’s eyes, the subtle frown on his usually cheerful face, the downwards slump of his shoulders. Nico wondered if he had nightmares, too.

“So, what were up to yesterday?” Will asked tiredly.

Nico shrugged. “Nothing really. Sparred a bit, nothing exciting. You?”

Will copied him. “Worked. Kind of missed having you around the infirmary, though.” Nico looked over at him cautiously. “No one quite works pink like you do, yanno.”

Nico rolled his eyes and punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Shut up!”

For the first time that night, Will laughed, fully and heartily. Nico hadn’t realized how much he’d missed the sound until he heard. It had only been a day since he last heard it, but Will’s downcast behavior had alarmed him. He’d never seen the son of Apollo genuinely unhappy. Annoyed, yes. Usually with him. But he’d never seemed sad before then. Something weird constricted in his chest when he made Will laugh like that. He was almost smug with himself that he could lift that frown off of his face.

They didn’t really talk beyond that. Instead, they just watched as the sky grew steadily lighter. Will’s hands reached behind himself to prop himself up. Whether it was accidental or not that his hand rested on top of Nico’s, neither of them moved it.

Nico hid his smile the entire time, content to just sit there. When the sun finally made its entrance into the sky, and the blue began to override the black, Nico wasn’t even trying to hide anymore.

It was the beginning of a bright new day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nico helps Will with a personal vendetta against a PB&J sandwich, and Will goes home.

It hit him like a bag of bricks.

Will was walking with Nico, just chatting, and everything was fine. Better than fine, really. It was great. Nico didn’t scowl as much and he didn’t look like he wanted to push Will into the lake every other moment. Sure, he didn’t really laugh much, but Will had learned the science behind Nico di Angelo as easily as he'd read through advanced med texts. He could see Nico’s smile in his eyes, could hear his laugh behind the belligerent words, and could feel his ease in his gestures.

Nico was changing. No, that wasn’t quite right. He was still the same Nico he had known. But, more of that happy-go-lucky kid that used to wave trading cards in his face was peeking through the surface. Nico was still sharp-tongued and witty and a bit aggressive and, yeah, okay, a little scary at times, but on top of all of that, he was happy and healthy.

Will mentally patted himself on the back for that last bit. He’d been nearly forcing meals down the kid’s throat for weeks and it was paying off. He was still far too thin, in Will’s opinion, but at least he no longer looked like the things he summoned out of the ground. The sun was working its magic, too. He wasn't deathly pale but rather a light creamy tan. Will was happy to note that there was even a little freckle making itself known on his cheek. Will resisted the urge to tease him about it, just to see the revered and feared Nico di Angelo turn pink and rant in Italian.

Most dramatic of all was Nico’s haircut. Piper had pleaded and whined and cried for him to let her near his head with a pair of scissors. Eventually, he caved. Will almost fell off the bench when he saw Nico march up to him, scowling and shooting daggers at everyone that dared snickered – who were wisely quick to back off – and crossed his arms.

“Well?” Nico hissed. “You gonna laugh, too?”

Oh, gods, no. He wanted to run up and shake Piper’s hand. Nico’s hair wasn’t all that different, just shorter, and Will couldn’t believe all he’d been missing before. How had he not realized how clear his eyes were? Or how defined his jaw really was? He looked older, more distinguished. He looked – “Good,” Will finished aloud. “You look really good.”

Those clear brown eyes widened before glaring down at the ground. There was no way for Nico to hide his blush now. “I look like I’m ten again,” he grumbled.

Will realized that Nico was actually looking for approval. From _him._ He smiled softly. “Well, I think you look nice.”

Nico frowned. “You’d better not be just saying that.”

“I’m not.”

“You swear it doesn’t look like something crawled on my head and died?”

Will snorted. “If it didn’t look like that before, it definitely doesn’t now.”

Nico immediately relaxed, relief clear in his expression. He ran a hand through the considerably shorter locks and sighed. “It feels weird. Like, I can’t see my hair anymore. I guess it did get a bit annoying in fights.”

And, while Nico was busy fretting over his appearance, that was when it hit Will.

It was almost the end of summer.

Will had to go home soon.

.

He tried not to let his departure get to him. He really did. He hadn’t mentioned anything to Nico, unsure of how to bring it up or if the son of Hades would even really care. Sure, they had become pretty good friends but that was all. There were no ties holding them to each other, nothing really that would obligate contact over the school year.

School year.

It was strange to think that in two weeks he would be back with his mother and in monochrome halls with classmates when not so long ago there was a strong possibility it would’ve all been destroyed. He would have been happy to return to the mundane daily life of homework and family breakfasts if not for one plaguing thought. He’d have to leave Camp Half-Blood. That always sucked but now it _double-sucked._ He didn’t know what Nico’s plans were. He didn’t even know if the son of Hades _went_ to school.

“Are you even listening?”

“Huh?” Will snapped out of his thoughts and looked up to where the aforementioned demigod was glaring at him. “What?”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Never mind.”

“No, what?”

Nico sighed. “I asked what your plans were for the year, but since you’re all spacey and drooling maybe I should leave you to whatever disturbing thoughts you're having.”

Will made an offended noise. “I was _not_ drooling!” Then it clicked. _Plans for the year._ “And, uh, well… I guess I have to get back to school. My mom is gonna pick me up on the thirtieth.”

Will could practically see Nico do the math in his head and cringed. It was the twenty-sixth. He waited for Nico to chew him out but he only said, “Oh,” as if he’d been expecting it. He shrugged. “I’m thinking of heading to Camp Jupiter for a bit. Visit Hazel and all that.” Will could hear the hidden words and snorted. Nico was a protective brother, and Will found it incredibly sweet. Nico mistook his admiration for suspicion. “And I won’t be shadow-travelling,” he added tersely, “so save the lecture, Med Head.”

“Wasn’t going to,” Will said softly, turning his head up to the sky. Somehow, they always found themselves at the same spot where they’d first watched the stars. It had become sort of a routine to meet up after dinner and walk over to the edge of camp, plop down, and talk. Mostly, Will ranted about the infirmary and about how absurd some of the injuries were, and for the most part Nico kept quiet. He would complain about getting sunburned and how loud everyone was in the mornings, but Nico was largely content to sit there and listen.

It was getting harder to ignore. Every time a loose piece of hair blew in front of Nico’s face, Will fought the itch to brush it back into place. Whenever Nico groaned about calluses on his palms, Will resisted the urge to grab his hands. It was distracting.

Will stood up with a stretch. “Well, I’m calling it a night. You should, too.”

“Yes, Dr. Solace.”

“Whatever, Nurse di Angelo.” Will stuck his tongue out and dodged a half-hearted swat.

Nico jumped up to his feet. Will nearly jumped when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder for just the slightest moment. “Good night, Will.”

“Good, uh… yeah. Night. Night, Nico,” Will stammered out, but Nico was already walking over to his cabin. Will couldn’t help but glance over his shoulder every few steps long after Nico had disappeared behind Cabin Thirteen’s door.

 _A grip,_ Will told himself firmly, _you need to get one._

The next few days were odd. Will could sense the awkwardness between them. They were both dying to say something, but neither seemed willing to be the first one to speak. Will wouldn’t mind in the slightest if Nico wanted to write a letter or two while he was gone, that they could still be friends, but Will’s courage drooped with each sharp glance. What if he had it all wrong? What if Nico didn’t want to stay in contact? Was he assuming too much? He didn’t want to scare Nico away. He’d been through so much. They both had. Limits. What were his limits?

His mind went silent the moment Nico sat across from him at the Apollo table. Will glanced around. He hadn’t noticed that everyone else at his table already left. “Um…”

“Spill.”

“What?”

“You’ve been staring at that PB and J for seven straight minutes,” Nico pointed out. “So, what’s up with you? Unless you really have a personal vendetta against sandwiches...”

Will couldn’t help it. He snorted. “And if I did?”

“Then I guess I would help you plot your twisted revenge.”

“And how would you do that?”

Nico thought for a moment, and Will was a bit unnerved at the dark glint in his grey eyes. “Eating it would be a good start.”

Will exhaled an airy laugh. He pushed the plate towards the other demigod. “You do the honors.”

Nico raised an eyebrow. “We’ll share it.” At Will’s confused look, he rolled his eyes and moved the plate to the middle of the table. “Eat, you moron. A doctor should be setting a good example for the rest, shouldn’t he?”

Will waggled his eyebrows. “Are you worrying, di Angelo?”

Nico crossed his arms. “I’m not as soft as you are, Solace. I will summon enough skeletons to carry you into the infirmary and keep you there. Three days would suffice, right?”

Will balked. “Wow.”

“What? You get your revenge on the sandwich and I’ll get my own revenge for you kidnapping me a few weeks ago.”

Will smiled and rested his hand on his cheek. “Revenge on _me_. Really? For helping you recover?”

“I’ve been planning it for a while now, yeah.”

“So… your master plan… your big revenge… is to spend more time with me?”

Nico looked a little shy as he met Will’s stare. He gave a little shrug with one shoulder. “You have three days left at camp, right? Shouldn’t be a problem.”

Will thought for a moment and then grinned. “I guess it wouldn’t _kill me.”_

“Death jokes. Tactful.”

With that, Will laughed. He reached over and grabbed half of the sandwich in between them. “That’s me, Death Boy. Always classy.”

Nico smirked and took the other half. “Obviously your mind has been affected. Cursed, probably.”

Will laughed along but didn’t deny it. If that was Nico’s way of saying, _‘I want to spend more time with you,’_ then Will would probably agree to anything the son of Hades threw at him.

.

Three days went too fast. They didn’t really go to the infirmary. In fact, Nico wouldn’t let him anywhere near it. Something about needing a break from work. “You don’t make a fireman recover by making him sit in the firehouse,” Nico had told him impatiently after Will complained about sitting in the Hades cabin.

“Still, this is boring.”

“Now you know how I felt when you kept me in the infirmary.”

Will scoffed. “You make it sound like I chained you up and kept you for ransom.”

“Ransom? Good luck with that.”

Will frowned past the self-deprecating comment. “Still, I wish we could at least watch TV or some movies or something.”

Nico shrugged. “Sort of missed most of that cinema craze.”

Will gaped at him. “You mean you’ve never seen _Titanic?_ Or _Lord of the Rings? The Notebook?”_ Nico shook his head at every one, ignoring Will’s appalled gasp. He sat up and looked at Nico determinedly. _“Forrest Gump? The Godfather?_ Oh, gods, you’d love that one. Probably too much.”

Nico just looked very confused. “Okay…?”

“Man, I keep forgetting that you’re an old man.” Will whistled. “You _do_ know we landed on the moon, right?”

Nico flushed and smacked Will on the shoulder, hard. “I’m not _an idiot!_ I’ve been in the twenty-first century for four years now!”

Will grinned deviously. “Ah, good. So you know about… that, then.”

Nico’s eyebrows scrunched together suspiciously. “That?”

“Yeah. You know.” Will leaned in a bit closer and spread his hands out before whispering, “ _Aliens.”_

Nico choked on what could have been a laugh. “ _Aliens?”_

“Yep. And if you know all about that then, of course, you’d know about the MIB.”

Nico then looked curious. “The ‘MIB’?”

“Yeah, yanno. _The Men in Black._ ” Will raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know what I’m talking about, do you?”

He chewed his lower lip, looking torn between wanted to know more and kicking Will right off the bed. “Are they… are they monsters?” he guessed.

Will made a buzzing noise. “Nope! Wrong! The Men in Black are a secret organization that covers up proof of extraterrestrial life. No one knows anything about them except that they show up whenever there’s been a sighting in full suits and ties. They wipe your memory, too, after you talk to them. Who knows? Maybe you’ve already seen them!” He slapped his hands to his cheeks and gaped dramatically at Nico, who just frowned.

“If they wipe your memory then how do we know they exist in the first place?”

Will chuckled. “Because Will Smith is unforgettable.”

“What?”

“It’s a movie, Nico. _The Men in Black_ is a movie from, like, the nineties. Around the time I was born, actually,” he added wistfully.

“Ugh. Don’t say that.” Nico groaned and fell back against his bed.

Will smiled and leaned his head against the wall. “What’s it like? Being in a different time and all that… gotta be weird.”

“It is,” Nico answered immediately. “Or, it was. I’m pretty used to it at this point, but still it was weird to see how much I actually missed.”

“Do you remember much?” Will asked. Nico face twisted in what looked like pain and Will berated himself. “That was dumb,” he added quickly. “Sorry. You don’t have to answer that.”

Nico sat up so that their shoulders were touching. He drew up his knees and held them close, staring absently at the floor. “It’s all pretty fuzzy,” he said lowly. Will had to strain his ears to hear him, hanging onto every word. “I don’t remember much. Just bits and pieces. Like… I remember that my mother used to teach us English, and that Bianca always wore a white dress, and that I had a friend I always played football with. And by football I mean soccer.” Nico frowned. “I don’t even remember his name…”

Will could sense the tension in the atmosphere the second he mentioned Bianca. It was the same feeling he got just before the metaphorical shit hit the allegorical fan. He bit the inside of his cheek. “When I was eleven,” Will started, hoping to distract Nico from his thoughts. Already, the temperature in the cabin was dropping with Nico’s mood. “When I was eleven, my neighbor got a dog. It was so mean. Always snapped at us when we walked past. I used to take the long way home just to avoid him, but…” He twisted his hands together. “One day he broke free from his leash and ran into the street.” Will grimaced. “I was riding my bike when it happened. The car. I know it’s sort of dumb but I couldn’t just stand there. I ran out to help him. I was freaking out and begging for help. That was the first time I ever healed anything. The dog was fine, walked away, but everyone had seen. The entire neighborhood saw me heal that dog. Even the mist couldn’t conceal that.

“We ended up having to move and everything. I was pretty scared and kept asking my mom all these questions that she couldn’t answer. I think she was afraid of me, at first, before my dad claimed me and it all made sense. But still… the look in everyone’s eyes even though I was helping…” Will let out a soft laugh. “I’ve never told anyone else that before.”

Nico inched a little closer. “But you _were_ helping, Will. I know what that look is, and what it feels like, but you’re pretty much the kindest demigod we’ve got. You’re a healer. Not just literally. You save people. That means more than how a bunch of mortals look at you.”

Will smiled. “You know, you could stand to listen to your own advice every once in a while.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Yeah. I know.”

“And, yanno, buy some lamps.” He glanced around the dark cabin.

Nico shoved him playfully. “Shut up!”

Will just laughed and came back to bump their shoulders together. For a few minutes, they were just quiet. It wasn’t awkward. In fact, Will felt more comfortable around the son of Hades than before. After a moment, Nico spoke again, quietly, as if unsure he should say anything at all. “The next time you’re here,” he mumbled, “we’ll watch those movies.”

“Next time?”

“Next summer.”

It felt so far away. Almost a year. It wasn’t really fair. They were finally _getting somewhere._ Still, as long as Nico kept showing interest in future interaction, Will didn’t mind waiting. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Good.”

Their eyes met and Will suddenly _really_ wanted to abolish the distance between them. He might have if it hadn’t been for Jason Grace bursting into the Hades cabin with the loudest bang he’d ever heard. Nico immediately fixed his stare straight ahead and Will shot to his feet, face hot and heart pounding. “Nic— _oh.”_ Jason stopped and rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, am I interrupting something?”

Nico seemed to have turned into a statue while Will couldn’t stop moving. “Oh, uh, nah. I was just leaving! Gotta pack up. Um… yep. Bye, Nico. Jason.”

Jason smirked knowingly at them both as Will all but fled the cabin.

.

The thirtieth of August was rainy. Will wondered vaguely if his mood was reflecting in the dark clouds and occasional loud gust of wind. He picked himself out of bed and got ready, throwing his pajamas and toothbrush into one of his few bags. He went down for his last breakfast with his siblings. Most of the campers were going home and everyone was a bit down. A lot of bonds had been forged this summer. Even though Will had been pretty sure that he was going to die for three-fourths of it, it had been the best summer yet.

“Hey, Will!”

Will jumped and spun around where he sat. He was half-expecting to see an angry raven-haired demigod marching towards him, but instead he got Jason Grace again. “Oh. Hey, Jason. What’s up?”

Jason took a seat next to him. “Just wanted to say bye. It’s going to be weird staying here with so many people leaving.”

Will nodded. “Yeah. It’s going to be even weirder going back to school.”

“That’s true. But, hey, listen.” Jason clapped a heavy hand on Will’s shoulder and kept it there. There was an unreadable glint in his eyes. “Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it. And, if I even hear a _whisper_ that you’ve done something to upset him, I _can_ and _will_ find you. Got it?”

Will gulped. “Um. Upset who, exactly?”

“You know exactly who,” Jason said in a tone that was too cheerful for the dark look on his face. “And I’m not alone. I’ve got Piper, Reyna, Hazel, and Annabeth on my side. With them comes both demigod camps and every unholy thing Hades has kept away in the underworld.” Will shrank in on himself. Jason stared at him for a second then started to laugh. Will laughed along, uncertainly. “But, seriously. Will.” Jason’s humor disappeared. “Watch yourself.”

Jason promptly patted him on the back and smiled happily. “Have a good year!” he piped before getting up and walking off. Will watched him go for a moment before letting his head drop to the table with a _thunk._

When it came time to leave, Will still hadn’t seen Nico.

He wasn’t exactly sure what he’d been expecting, but after all the time they’d been spending together Will figured he would have at least said goodbye.

He ignored his own disappointment until he saw his mother, who dashed forward and scooped him into a tight hug, which he happily returned. “I missed you so, so much!” Naomi Solace cried.

“Missed you, too, Mom,” Will gasped out, “but you’re crushing me.”

She released him with a quiet apology. “Well, are you all set?”

Will sighed and glanced around, searching. “Yeah. I guess.”

She nodded and smiled. “Then let’s get those bags to the car and head home. We’re going out tonight. Your favorite. No objections.”

Will agreed and she patted his cheek before going to go talk to Chiron real quick. Will sulkily grabbed his bags.

“Well, now I know where you get your stubbornness from.”

Will dropped his bag and turned, wide-eyed, as Nico walked out of the shadows and smiled shyly at him, arms crossed. Will smiled. “I didn’t think you were gonna show.”

Nico shrugged. “I didn’t either, to be honest. But… here I am.”

“Yeah.”

An awkward silence fell over them. Will rubbed his arm, trying to find something to say. Nico seemed just as nervous, which was reassuring. “I’ll write to you,” he blurted out. Nico stared at him. “I-I mean… you know… to check in from time to time. Make sure you’re not killing yourself by riding shadows.”

Nico blinked for a few moments before letting out an airy laugh. “Such a professional,” he muttered, running a hand through his short hair. “But, I guess, if it means that much to you… I can write a letter or two. Check in.”

Will couldn’t stop the smile from taking control of his features even if he wanted to. “Right.” Silence. “Oh! Address. Yeah, I should give you mine. Um… pen?” They checked their pockets. Will eventually dug one out of his bags and a small sheet of paper. He scribbled his address on it and handed it to Nico, who took it carefully. “I, uh, added my phone number. Just in case.”

Nico nodded. “Uh… cool?”

Will laughed. “You suck at this, you know that?”

Nico blushed a bright red. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Solace! But shut up!”

Will’s mother called his name and he glanced over his shoulder. She was waving over to him. “One second!” he answered. He turned back to Nico. “I have to go.”

“Right. See you, then.”

Will rolled his eyes. “That’s _not_ how you say goodbye to your friends, Nico.”

He scowled. “Well, sue me. I’m new at this.”

Will’s smile faltered for just a second before he collected Nico into a tight hug. Nico tensed up, and it felt like Will was hugging a prickly cactus for a few awkward moments, before, slowly, Nico brought his arms up to return the embrace. They hugged a little longer than two friends normally would, but Will didn’t mind in the slightest. He was too busy focusing on how well Nico seemed to fit in his arms, and it felt as natural as breathing.

Then, Nico gave a little, uncomfortable cough and Will pulled away with a sheepish grin. “Uh. Sorry.”

“No, it’s…” Nico looked at the ground. “It’s fine.”

“Will!” his mother called.

He waved at Naomi to let her know he was coming. “So… I’ll be watching my mail,” he said as he took a step backwards.

“That goes both ways, Med Head.”

With one last shared smile and whispered goodbyes, Will picked up his bags and followed his mother up the hill and into the car. He collapsed into the passenger seat with a long sigh, already looking back at the camp through the rearview mirror.

Naomi climbed into the driver’s seat and gave him a smile. “So, how was your summer, sweetie?”

Will shrugged. “Ah, you know. Dangerous.”

“So, another normal summer?”

Will snorted. “Yeah, Mom. Pretty much.”

“Are you sure the camp is all right with you leaving? Chiron was telling me about how important you were to the infirmary here.”

“We’ve got other healers. They can keep a handle on things while I’m at school.”

She nodded. “But… you’re having fun, too, right? Keeping safe?”

He huffed. "I’m always careful. And, yeah.” His eyes flashed back up to the mirror again. “It was the best.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the author does something a little different and Nico misunderstands the term 'hanging out'

Camp Jupiter hadn't really changed since the last he'd seen of it. Nico hadn't realized how much he missed Hazel and Reyna until his sister squeezed the air out of his lungs and the praetor punched him – hard – for not visiting earlier.

Later, Nico caught up with Hazel – and Frank – and told her the highlights of his summer. Unfortunately, Hazel was more perceptive than he remembered. "Okay, so apart from flirting with Will, what did you do?"

Nico choked on his own spit. _"Flirting?_ No, definitely not that. I mean… we're friends."

Hazel rolled her eyes and looked at Frank for back-up. Frank turned to Nico and shrugged. "Call him?"

Hazel lit up. "Yeah, he gave you his number, right? That totally means he wants you to call him!"

Nico groaned. "I knew this was a bad idea. I should've stayed at Camp Half-Blood." Sitting on the bed opposite of his, Hazel smiled wide while, beside her, Frank looked rather out of place. Well, he always seemed that way, but he particularly looked as though he wanted to dart out the door.

"It's been almost a month since he's left, hasn't it?" Hazel sighed. "He's probably dying to hear from you."

"Then why hasn't he called first?"

Frank's head tilted to one side. "Maybe because you don't have a phone?"

"Yeah, Old Man," Hazel sniggered. "Get with the times, will you? Even _I_ know how to work one."

"Demigods shouldn't even have phones!" Nico huffed. "It's dangerous." He narrowed his eyes at his sister. "And I am not _old!_ "

"You're over seventy. That's up there."

"You're one to talk," Nico muttered. Hazel threw a pillow at him.

…

Will wasn't stalking the mailman. No, he definitely wasn't.

"Expecting something special?" the mailman asked with a grin by the second week.

Will rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed that he'd been caught yet again. "Ah, not really. Sorry for bugging you."

He quickly made a mad dash to his front door and sealed himself in, ignoring the sly chuckling coming from his mother as she sipped her morning coffee. "Just write to him," she called after him as he scurried up the stairs. She just raised her voice. "Send a picture! That'll get his attention!"

"Mom!" Will barked after her, wincing when she let out a loud, cackling laugh, before slipping into his room and collapsing into his desk chair. He frowned at the pile of homework, decided that procrastinating another few hours wouldn't hurt, and stared out the window, absent-mindedly playing with the beads on his necklace.

…

_Will,_

_How's school going? I'm visiting Camp Jupiter right now. Hazel says hello. I… this is pointless…_

_…_

_Dear Nico,_

_Hey, just wanted to check in and make sure you were staying shadow-free. Don't want you relapsing… I mean… ugh WORDS._

…

"It shouldn't be so hard to write a letter!" Nico grumbled angrily during breakfast. "I mean, what are you supposed to talk about?"

Next to him, Dakota gave a hic. "Anything! Weather, sports, what you ate."

"Why would he care about what kind of weather we're having? And I don't watch sports. And what I ate? Seriously?"

"Just talk about your day," Hazel supplied helpfully. "Tell him you miss him."

"I don't… _miss him._ " Nico gritted his teeth.

Reyna, who was passing by, leaned one elbow against the table and rolled her eyes. "Oh, _please._ All we hear is 'Will this' and 'Will that'. Just do us all a favor and write the boy a letter. I assure you, if he does not reply or responds negatively, he will regret it." The look in her eyes meant she was dead serious.

Nico leaned back. "You know what? I think I actually miss Camp Half-Blood. I can't tell if I'm getting lunch or getting interrogated when I'm here."

Hazel laughed, Reyna raised an eyebrow, and Dakota fell off the bench when he tried to stand up. "Man down," Frank called with a laugh.

When Dakota didn't move, Hazel frowned. "Is he… all right?"

Nico nudged him with his foot, which roused a snore from the fallen Roman. "He's asleep."

Reyna sighed. "Just… let him sleep it off."

…

Will had always liked school, but, gods, had it always been this boring? His motivation was dropping along with the temperature. He always got a little sluggish during the winter, had a love-hate relationship with the snow depending on whether or not a blizzard would bear them a cancellation, but it seemed particularly bad this year.

His thoughts were miles away. He wondered, not worried, about how things at the camp infirmary were running without him. His instincts kept poking at him to go back, his subconscious cooking up disastrous situations. But, he also wondered, not worried, about what a particular son of Hades was up to. He had talked about going to Camp Jupiter. Was he there? Was he all right? Did he think of Will even _half_ as much as Will thought of him?

Distracted, that would be the word for it. He was distracted. His grades, usually near-perfect, slipped more and more. When he brought home a B in his math class, his mother tried to give him 'The Talk'. Will made sure to keep up with his schoolwork after that.

He knew it was silly, but he couldn't help but check his mail every day. He wondered if he would be able to track Nico down if he did end up writing a letter to him. But what would he say? What did Hades kids like to talk about? Will wasn't so savvy on his Underworld knowledge. Did Nico even want to talk to him?

He resolved to get some inside information. He dug out a golden drachma he had stowed away and, even though it was nearly November, stood outside and sprayed his driveway – garnering a couple of interesting looks from his neighbors – with the garden hose until a rainbow appeared. "Kay, here goes," he muttered and flicked the drachma into the mist, "Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me Jason Grace at Camp Half-Blood."

The mist shimmered, and slowly a dark picture came into focus. Jason was, unfortunately, fast asleep. He was on his side, mouth wide open and hair tousled. Will rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh… Jason?"

Other than a loud, ear-rupturing snore, Jason didn't respond.

"Jason!"

Nothing.

"C'MON, ROMAN, UP!"

Jason jolted awake, dazed and nearly falling out of bed. "What? Who?" He looked around and noticed the call. Will wiggled his fingers embarrassedly at him. "Oh. Will? What's going on?"

"Nothing really important. Sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you."

"Nah, it's fine." The son of Jupiter sat up and stretched. "These altars are more work than I thought. I pretty much just sleep whenever I can. So what's up?"

Will's smile turned sheepish. "Aha… I need some advice."

"From me?" Jason blinked. "About what?"

Will twisted his hands together. " _That."_

Jason's eyebrows knotted together. "That? What's…? Oh. Nico, right."

Will shushed him immediately, flinching and looking over his shoulder like the grumpy Italian would be right behind him, ready to smite him. "Yeah, _that._ "

...

Nico had an annoying habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or maybe it was the right place at the right time, depending on how he looked at it. This particular time managed to be a bit of both. He was walking to meet Hazel for some sparring practice when he overheard her speaking to Reyna rather seriously. He caught a familiar name and strained his ears to listen. "Jason contacted me. Said he recently talked to the healer Will Solace."

"What about?" Hazel whispered quickly.

"Oh, I'm sure you have a pretty good idea. He's got it bad."

Nico's eyebrows furrowed. He had what bad? What was wrong with Will?

He heard Hazel heave a sigh. "Poor guy."

"He can barely focus on his studies. I don't think he leaves the house much."

Nico frowned, staring at the ground. He fought the urge to run at them and shake them by the shoulders, demanding to know what was going on with Will. His pride, however, kept his feet rooted to the ground. A rush of guilt flooded him. Something was up with Will and Nico hadn't contacted him once all fall.

He accidentally knocked over a spear, which clattered against the floor loudly. He winced, keeping himself hidden, and hoped they wouldn't come looking. He got ready to melt into the shadows in any case. "Anyways," Reyna continued in a considerably louder voice, "Jason seems to think he's getting very sick. Overworked."

Hazel cleared her throat. "Oh! Right! That boy is going to really _hurt himself_ if _someone_ doesn't go help him!"

Nico peeked around the corner in time to see Reyna nodding approvingly. "Very true. Only he's too stubborn to ask for help. He'd rather work himself to the ground."

Nico sank back behind the corner and bit his lower lip. Will was sick? Knowing Will, what Hazel and Reyna had said was true and he really was running himself ragged just to prove himself. "That idiot," he muttered. Somehow, he found himself tugging on the sole bead on his leather-band necklace.

It wasn't fair. Nico wasn't even allowed to put a toe in a shadow and Will was going off risking his health without a second thought? How hypocritical could he get?

His mind made up, he stomped off, hoping Hazel wouldn't get too mad for ditching. He failed to notice how Hazel and Reyna bumped each other's fists as he slipped into the shadows for the first time in months.

…

Will was still half-asleep. Even though he was a morning person, he didn't mind having a late morning every so often. For a few moments, he looked out at the two robins perched on the branch arching across his window.

Stretching, he yawned and turned onto his side, deciding to just try to catch a few more Z's. He was almost asleep again when it sounded as though something heavy fell through the tree, rustling the leaves and snapping branches. He heard a muffled groan and, a few moments later, a soft knock against the glass, which made him jolt awake.

As quickly as he could while he was still wrapped up in his blanket-cocoon, Will rolled over. Instead of two lovey-dovey robins whistling a little tune, Will saw something he would have never expected in a hundred years.

Nico di Angelo was hanging, upside down, outside his window, arms extended over his head and a very, very grumpy expression on his face. His shirt had fallen down, exposing his toned stomach.

Not a bad sight to wake up to, Will decided hurriedly as he worked to free himself from his covers. He wondered vaguely if Christmas had come a month early. Nico's face got steadily redder as Will crawled out of bed and padded over to the window. By the time Will had pushed it open, he looked like a ripe tomato. Will grinned and leaned his elbows against the windowsill. "How's it hanging, di Angelo?" he said smartly.

The glare he received was as icy as the bitter weather. "Sh-shut up, S-Solace! Are you just gonna s-stand there and st-stare all day or are you gonna p-pull me in? It's-s f-freaking freezing out!"

Will snorted. "As tempting as it sounds to leave you stranded as eye-candy…" He extended his hand. "Here."

Nico rolled his eyes and had to swing a little bit to grab onto Will's hand. Will couldn't repress the shudder that ran through him. "Holy shit, your hands are cold."

"Shut up!"

Will pulled Nico in with a bit of difficulty. As soon as Nico's feet touched solid ground he righted himself and Will lamented the loss of the sight of Nico's bare stomach. Nico crossed his arms self-consciously and glared at the floor, staying near the wall. Will closed the window and immediately went back to bed to grab a blanket and toss it at Nico's general direction. "So… uh… what made you drop by?"

Nico scowled at him but nonetheless took the blanket and draped it over his shoulders. "I hoped getting sick would have dampened your knack for dumb puns."

Will raised an eyebrow. "Sick?"

Nico's cheeks flooded red again. "I… heard that you were pretty sick so I just… thought I'd check in…"

"I'm not sick."

Nico frowned. "But Reyna and Hazel said…" He trailed off and a look that Will could only describe as _murderous_ etched onto his features. It made goosebumps rise on his arms. "I've been played, haven't I?"

Will let out a loud laugh. "Aw, Nico, were you worried?"

Nico glowered at him. "Shut up."

"That wasn't a no!"

"I'll curse you."

"Try and you'll be speaking in rhyming couplets for a week, Doom and Gloom." Will sat down on his bed and wrapped his duvet over his own shoulders before patting the spot next to him. "You don't have to stand in the corner like a wounded animal, yanno."

Nico rolled his eyes. "You know, if anyone else spoke to me like that they'd be knee-deep in femurs."

Will grinned as Nico plopped down next to him. He watched him for a moment before letting his gaze wonder to nothing in particular. "Well, it's a good thing I'm not anyone else, isn't it?"

Nico met his gaze and suddenly Will was so warm it felt like summer all over again. "Guess so," he muttered.

Will chuckled for a brief moment before a stray thought hit him. "Wait… how did you get here?"

Nico tensed up. "Uh…"

He dropped his jaw. "You shadow-travelled, didn't you?"

Nico shrank away, holding his hands up in defense. "Look, it wasn't that much of a distance and I—"

"Nico di Angelo!" Will shouted, crossing his arms and glaring. "You heard I was sick and decided to risk your health to shadow-travel hundreds of miles just to see me?"

Nico gulped and looked from side to side. "Y-yeah?"

Will's heart smacked itself. His shoulders sagged and a small, reluctant smile pulled at his lips. "W-well… that is pretty sweet of you…"

Nico looked even more afraid.

Will was quick to recover. He jabbed an accusing finger at his chest. "B-but don't think I'm just gonna let this slide!"

Nico blinked, but looked much less nervous. "What?"

"You heard me!" Will huffed. "Twenty-four hour supervision."

He sighed, long and dramatic. "Twenty-four hour supervision? Really, Will?"

"What? It's only fair. You could've been shadow-chow."

"Shadow-chow…"

"I was going to go into town today, too. Guess you'll have to tag along."

Nico, surprisingly, just scoffed and failed to hide his grin. "Is that right?"

"Mmhm."

Will almost fell right off his bed when Nico's grin grew and said, "It's a date."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Addressing a few questions I’ve received:
> 
> -How old is Will in this? Rick Riordan has said that he sees Will as pretty much ‘Nico’s peer’ so he’s at about fifteen, while Nico is fourteen-almost-fifteen. At most, they’re a year apart. –so rest assured me mateys-
> 
> -Smut? Nope. I’m not emotionally ready to write that. Sorry! :I With me, you’re stuck at hugs and cuddles and kisses or – at most – implied stuffs.
> 
> -Leo? I DON’T KNOW. I really don’t know how I would reunite them. So, probs not in this story.
> 
> -Length? I lied. This is gonna be a little longer than five chapters. Also, when it’s over there’ll be a big ‘THE END’ so even if updates get a little spotty, which they will because finals season is coming, know this fic won’t be over until you see those two words :3
> 
> Thank you all so much for all the awesome reviews and kudos and whatever else! X3 See you soon!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nico is out of his comfort zone and Will tries to help. Tries.

Nico stood awkwardly in the living room while Will got ready. He couldn’t remember the last time he was in an actual house. He certainly had never been in one quite like this. The walls were bright yellow and the light slipping through the large windows cast a warm, almost summery feel throughout the room despite the cold, desolate weather outside. The entire house seemed as though it had been ripped from a home catalogue with its beachy decorations and modern furnishings. It looked nice, expensive, well-kept, cozy. Nico just stood in the center, trying very hard not to touch anything. Even the couch looked so nice that Nico thought he might ruin it if he just sat on it.

Instead, he took to spying on the pictures hanging on the wall. He recognized Will immediately in one of them. He was younger than he was currently if his longer-hair and considerably shorter height were anything to go by. He was standing by a pond in jean overalls, a Band-Aid stripped across his knee, and grinning hugely at the camera as he held up a caught fish on a fishing hook. A few of his teeth were missing in the front, and Nico noted how the sun seemed to just be attracted to him, casting an otherworldly glow as if his father was showering him with pride.

There was another of Will, a little older, with his arm slung around another woman’s shoulder. Nico immediately knew that she was his mother. The physical resemblance wasn’t really that prominent other than the light splay of freckles and the left-dimple in their cheeks. In fact, she had curly brown hair and dark hazel eyes. Her complexion was paler, closer to Nico’s than Will’s. What gave their relation away was the paramedic uniform she wore and the way they both seemed so comfortable in their own skins. He knew next to nothing about her, had barely seen her for more than two seconds when Will left that summer, but he was certain he could identify her as Will’s mother even if he had just passed her on the street.

Nico felt a twinge of something in his chest grow the longer he looked at the photograph. Slowly, it spread to his head until a dull throb started pounding with his heartbeat. He turned back to look at the comfortable living room and wondered vaguely if he had ever had a home like this one. Even more so, he wondered if he would ever have one like it again.

“Nico?” Will’s sudden voice came from the steps.

Nico started and looked up. “In here.”

Will’s head popped into view a moment later and he smiled as he walked in. “What’cha doing?”

Nico shrugged. “Nothing.”

Will noticed the photographs on the wall. “Ah, this was when I caught my first fish in the pond behind our house. I was so excited at first but then my babysitter joked that it would make a good meal and I cried nonstop until she threw it back in.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “You would get emotional over a fish.”

Will nudged him. “Hey, I was, like, eight. And a life is a life.”

“You eat meat.”

“Doesn’t mean I want to work in a slaughterhouse.”

Nico nodded in an “I can respect that” manner. He feebly pointed at the picture next to it. “Your mom is a paramedic?”

Will brightened up at the mention of his mom. “Oh, yeah! She was actually a surgeon before I was born but she had to cut back her hours. Single mom and all that. When I got a bit older she decided to go for the paramedic route. She said it made her happier to be right there when it really mattered.”

“You’re a lot alike.”

Will just hummed. “You’re lucky she’s working right now. You think _I’m_ bad?” He shook his head and let out a low whistle.

“I find it really hard to believe that there’s someone more stubborn than you out there.”

Will snorted. “Dude, I sneezed twice in a row _once_ in the sixth grade and she had me quarantined for a full day. She almost put me in one of those plastic bubble things.”

Nico pictured that for moment and had a lovely image of Will literally rolling down a hill. He almost laughed before he caught himself, a strangled noise of amusement escaping him. Will grinned triumphantly. “Do they even really exist?”

“Probably. I’m actually surprised she didn’t go through with it.”

“Why?”

“I, uh, got sick pretty often as a kid. If any of my classmates or the kids on the bus got the sniffles, a day later I was pretty much stuck in bed. It kind of sucked, but one day I guess my powers kicked in and I haven’t heard the plastic bubble threat since.” He shrugged. “One of the perks, I guess.”

Nico didn’t respond. He just looked back at the smiling boy in the pictures and then at the real thing, thinking how it was possible for someone like Will to even stand someone like him.

Will started to walk toward the door. “So, where do you feel like going? Personally, I’m starving, but I doubt there’s anything in the kitchen. Both of us are really terrible cooks.”

Nico shook his head. “I don’t have any mortal money.”

Will held up his wallet. “There’s a diner down the road.” He was a bit uncomfortable with the notion of Will paying for him, but his stomach decided it would be a lovely time to say hello. Blushing a bit, he held his stomach as it gave a second growl. Will laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes. But, uh…” He raised an eyebrow at Nico’s appearance. “You’re a bit underdressed.”

Nico huffed and crossed his arms. “Well, I was kind of in California.”

“And whose fault is that?”

“My sister’s.”

“Sure it is. Anyways, you can just borrow one of mine. No biggie.”

That would be the second time that Nico ‘borrowed’ one of Will’s clothes. Not that he was particularly paying close attention to that fact. Before he could formulate a protest, an overlarge black coat was thrown onto his head. He tore it off quickly and glared at the son of Apollo, who was already zipping his own up and paying little attention to his plight. Nico had half a mind to argue that he was used to being cold and didn’t need anything from him, but the words became stuck in his throat when Will gave him a little smile and a shrug. “Ready to go?”

Nico just let out an indignant exhale and hummed. He slipped on the jacket while staring at the floor. “Yeah, yeah.”

Will locked the door behind them, explaining that his mother, though very protective, trusted him enough to walk around town alone without fearing a monster attack. “She wasn’t very surprised when I got invited to Camp Half-Blood,” Will said. “I think she just always sort of knew, you know? I just don’t think she expected _Apollo_ to end up being my dad.”

“What does Apollo say?”

Will gave half a shrug. “I’ve never met him. But I hear him sometimes.”

Nico nodded. He saw his dad pretty often these days, but he assumed that it was easier for Hades, who only had two children, than Apollo, who had about a dozen or so running around just in Camp Half-Blood. “You look like him, you know,” he said before he could register his mouth was moving.

Will glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Yeah, I mean I met him when I was… ten? I thought he was kind of over-the-top, but his car was pretty nice. For being the sun and all.”

Will sighed. “I wish I had cool stories. I could tell you all the gossip in camp and about each wound I’ve had to stitch up, but nothing like that. I mean I’ve never even been on an actual _quest._ ”

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing, you know.”

“Still…” The look on Will’s face was pensive, wistful, a stark difference from the usual laidback yet unfiltered smile that he usually wore. Nico found himself trying to think of something to say, but he was horrible at these sort of heart-to-heart moments. How could he give advice when he himself couldn’t even follow it?

Nico glanced at the ground, kicking up a bit of snow as he walked, and noticed Will’s hand swinging through the air with each step. How easy it would be to reach out and take it, offering a comfort which his words just couldn’t forge. How impossible it would be for _him_ to take that leap, to be the one that initiated anything more than a few snarky conversations. It was much easier to pretend that Nico was going along with Will because he had been worried for the demigod’s health. The alternative was foreign territory, and he didn’t feel comfortable treading in it yet.

Right then he was wallowing in No Man’s Land, caught between the two trenches labeled ‘Friends’ and ‘A Bit More’. He was pretty sure he didn’t have what it took to be the one to shoot first. Not after all he’d been through. Not after Percy. He needed Will to yank him in either direction, to give him a bit more to walk on. Yet, Nico’s social skills weren’t exactly up to par, so miscommunications were inevitable.

What did Will think of him? ‘Friends’ was a pretty solid bet. And the safe one, too. ‘A Bit More’ was going to take a lot more work to get to. He would have to crawl through the metaphorical barbed wire and rifle-fire to get there, but the end results would be more desirable, wouldn’t they?

Nico shook himself, passing it off as a shiver from the cold. What was he even thinking about? He didn’t even know if Will was _gay_. That would be a pretty important thing to learn before he entertained his thoughts any farther.

“Oh, it’s right up here!” Will exclaimed suddenly, grasping Nico’s hand and lugging him across the street. “I swear they have the best hot chocolate you’ll ever have.”

Nico didn’t hear him. He was too busy staring at their held hands. Had it really been that easy for Will to reach over and lace their hands together like they’d been friends for years? Will was leading him, pulling him, but in what direction? What was going through the other boy’s head? ‘Friends’ or ‘A Bit More’?

Will dropped his hand in favor of pushing open the door. A little jingle alerted their presence to a waiter wearing a long sleeved shirt and an apron, who smiled at them. “Hey, Will!”

“Hey, Adam.” Will waved as he took a seat near the window. Nico followed, feeling immensely out of place. “Adam and I go to high school together,” Will explained as the waiter – Adam – walked over and handed them two menus. “His parents own the place.”

“Oh,” Nico awkwardly said. “That’s… cool?”

“You’d think so, right?” Adam snorted. “It’s just a big pain in the ass, let me tell you. At least the rest of the staff doesn’t have to go home with the bosses.”

“Good point.”

“Anyways. Drinks? Hot chocolate for Will, I know.”

“Hot chocolate is fine,” Nico responded. Adam pointed at them in an ‘I-got-you’ manner and left. Habitually, Nico scanned the diner for any signs of danger. He studied each face, assessed each noise, planned three different escape routes. His foot was tapping against the floor nervously and his nerves were on edge. Something about being left so in the open, so vulnerable, surrounded by people, was tweaking him out.

Suddenly, he felt a pressure on his wrist and jumped violently, hand twitching towards the silver fork on the table. “Whoa!” Will gasped, squeezing his grip on Nico’s wrist. “Chill, Nico! It’s all right!”

Nico scowled at him and slipped his hand away from Will’s, embarrassed. He became even more embarrassed when he realized he already missed the warmth from Will’s hand. “I’m fine.”

“Nico, you look like you’re about to maul the next thing that comes near you. What’s up?”

“Nothing.”

Will gave him a steely, stern gaze. He opened his mouth to say something but at that moment Adam was back with the two steaming mugs. As he sat them down, Nico leaned further away from the table, avoiding Will’s persistent stare. “All right. Are you guys ready to order?”

Adam didn’t get a response. Nico was too busy staring at his shoes while Will was frowning at him. Adam shrugged. “ _Okay,_ I’ll give you a few minutes, then.” He left.

“Nico.”

Nico sighed and raised his gaze. “What?”

“We can leave if you want.” Will’s tone, though sincere, was doused with disappointment.

Nico exhaled, slow and steady, and shook his head. If Will was so at ease then Nico could let his guard drop just a smidgen. “No, I’m fine. Seriously. It’s just a bit weird to be… out.”

Will tilted his head to one side. “We’re at a diner. It’s not like we’re having lunch in the middle of a highway, yanno.”

“No, I know. It’s dumb. I just… forget it.”

Will shook his head and reached out as if he would take Nico’s hand again but thought better of it. “It’s not dumb. I’ve heard stories. About what you’ve been through… where you’ve been. I can understand how this is weird for you. Next time just speak up. We could’ve ordered in or something.”

Nico huffed, cheeks red from the casual mention of a ‘next time’. He quickly reached out and grabbed his mug to hide his embarrassment. He took a sip, ignoring the way the hot beverage burnt his tongue, and his eyes went wide. “Holy Hera, that _is_ good!”

Will burst into laughter and all the tension in Nico’s body just seemed to melt away.

…

After lunch, they walked around town for a bit. Will showed him his high school and the soccer fields he used to play at as a kid. They stopped in a few small shops that were family owned and Will knew them all. He asked how their children were doing, how their children were doing, knew all of their names and never confused anything. Nico mostly just stood close behind him and avoided making eye contact.

The people looked at him like he was about to rob them blind. Whenever Will introduced him as his friend from camp, their eyes would bug out, as if shocked that Will could ever be friends with someone like him. Will didn’t seem to notice. He just steered Nico from store to store, introducing him to people he was sure he’d probably never see again, and explaining their life stories to him.

When they went into a novelty shop, Nico was distracted by a display of glass figurines. They were all supposed to be Greek mythological creatures. He snorted at the innocent-looking Gorgon smiling prettily at him. If only they were that pleasant in real life, and just as easy to break.

“Hey, Nico! C’mere!”

Nico searched for Will in the direction his voice had come, and saw the tall boy’s head sticking out from the rows of knickknacks. He wandered over. “What?”

“Look!” Will grinned and pointed at a shelf full of Mythomagic memorabilia.

Nico immediately frowned. “What about it?”

“You used to go nuts over this game, right? I remember you always tailing Mr. D and telling him stats or whatever.”

Nico flushed from head to toe. “That was a long time ago.”

“You still loved it.”

“Past-tense, Will.”

“Aw, come on. You don’t even want to look at it for nostalgia’s sake.”

“No, I really don’t,” Nico snapped, crossing his arms and turning away. “Why would I? There’s nothing to look back on except…!” He trailed off, thinking of Bianca, and dropped his gaze.

A sudden cold tension appeared between them. Nico was steaming, glaring at the ground while trying not to look pathetic, and Will was staring at the deck of cards in his hand like _it_ had just yelled at him. “I’m sorry,” he whispered after a moment. “I was just thinking about how happy you were… I didn’t mean to… sorry.”

Nico huffed and began to walk away. “I’m going to wait outside,” he said and marched out the door, letting the cold air blast away the emotion on his face. He let out a long breath, leaned against the wall, and calmed himself down. He knew Will hadn’t meant to bring up bad memories but he couldn’t help his reaction. It was instinct for him to brush off things, pretend they didn’t matter or exist, and then get the hell out.

After a few long, cold minutes, Will came back out with an apologetic smile. He held out a Snickers. “Peace offering?”

Nico stared at him for a bit then rolled his eyes and scoffed. “You’re a dork,” he said as he snatched the candy bar out of Will’s open hands.

Will smiled wider and looked up at the sky. “We should probably head back. It’s getting late.”

Nico just nodded, stowing away the chocolate for later.

The walk back was pretty quiet. Nico kept his hands lodged in the coat’s pockets to keep himself from the temptation to grab at Will’s again. When they reached Will’s house, Nico stopped at the driveway, unsure of what to do. He spotted a car by the garage that definitely hadn’t been there when they left and he wasn’t sure if he was ready to face Will’s mother just yet.

“You coming?” Will asked over his shoulder, sliding to a stop.

“Uh,” Nico tore his eyes away from the car and over to the house. The lights were on, smoke was billowing out of the chimney, and from where he stood he could hear the faint lull of music coming from inside. Will stood with one foot on the porch steps, melting into the homey picture perfectly. Nico was like a black stain on that picture. He didn’t belong. “Actually… I should go.”

“Aw, come on, my mom doesn’t really bite, you know.”

“No, it’s not that,” Nico lied. “It’s just… I sort of left without any notice and Hazel’ll probably be mad.”

It was a weak excuse and they both knew it. Will frowned, noticed, but didn’t push. His shoulders slumped and Nico could see the hurt in his eyes, but Will still didn’t push. “Oh. All right. Another time then?”

“Mmhm,” he hummed ambiguously, feeling horribly guilty and at the same time just wanted _out of there._

Will scratched the back of his neck and shrugged. “So… I’ll see you later, I guess.”

“Yeah.”

For a moment, neither of them moved. Then, just as Nico was opening his mouth to say goodbye, the front door opened and Will’s mother stepped out. “Will, what are you doing just standing out—oh!” She stopped short when she saw Nico standing to the side. “Hello!”

“Uh, Mom, this is Nico di Angelo. He’s a friend. From Camp.”

Mrs. Solace nodded and started to wipe her hands on a frosting-covered apron. “I see. It’s always nice to meet Will’s friends.” She extended a hand.

Nico looked at her hand and then to Will, nervous. Will gave an encouraging nod. Nico sighed and shook her hand quickly. Her grip was firmer than he’d expected. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Solace,” he said as politely as he could.

Mrs. Solace beamed. “Well, aren’t you a dear? You have to come inside for cookies then! I’m not a very good baker so you’ll have to excuse if they’re burnt. Also, I’m a bit of a health nut so the recipe is all organic.”

Nico’s stomach twisted in protest, but he didn’t have a chance to voice his objections. Mrs. Solace was already dragging him inside the warm house, declaring that she wouldn’t take no for an answer, with Will laughing all the way.

As Nico was firmly steered into a chair and was handed an interestingly-colored cookie, he glanced up at Will and his mom, who were teasing each other over their heights – Will definitely had a few inches over her – a smile crept onto his face.

He decided, as he took a curious bite of the cookie, that he wouldn’t mind getting to be a part of this more often.

He choked, covering his mouth and managing to pass it off as a cough, and made a second decision: never eat Mrs. Solace’s cooking again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Will returns to camp, and has a bone to pick with Nico.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it. The BIG ONE. Sort of. I'm just really excited for this chapter. ;w;

_May_

Will ran down the big hill, feeling a strange mixture of excitement and anger. He was already in his orange camp t-shirt, bead necklace hitting his chest with each stride, and running right past his cabin-mates, who had all held up a “WHAT’S UP, DOC?” banner to welcome him back.

“Uh-oh,” Lou Ellen squeaked as Will flew past, a bit of dirt billowing up behind him as he went. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Will so worked up.”

Cecil chuckled. “I can only think of one person that could make him _that_ crazy.”

Will bolted straight up to Jason Grace, who was talking animatedly to his girlfriend. He grabbed the back of Jason’s shirt and pulled him away from Piper. Jason squawked and struggled, but Will remained firm. “Where is he?” Will growled out.

“H-he?” Jason laughed nervously, hands up in surrender. “He who?”

“Grace!”

“H-he was by the training pit last I saw him!” Jason pointed in its direction. “You can let go of me now!”

Will dropped his hold on him and started marching toward the training fields. “NICO!” he shouted. “Nico di Angelo! Get out here right now!”

As he reached the fields, he was well aware of the crowd forming around him. Nervous chatter ran through the campers. _“Never seen him upset before!”_

_“What did Nico do?”_

_“Aw, man. This is gonna be good.”_

Will brushed past two campers in full-armor and the rest scurried out of his way. Will’s resolve steeled when he spotted a familiar mop of raven-black hair. “Nico!” he hissed out.

Nico di Angelo flinched and spun around. For a moment, Will faltered. Nico had grown. In every way possible. His hair was longer and wavy again, framed around his face perfectly. His skin was an olive-color, more a tan color than a pale one. He was taller, though Will still had a few inches on him, and still lean but not unimaginably thin. In fact, he’d gained quite a bit of muscle. He was wearing a black-buttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a leather-armor vest. His black jeans didn’t have a single hole in them. A leather necklace with a single bead sat around his neck. The look on Nico’s face would have been humorous if Will wasn’t so furious at him.

“Got you,” Will muttered as he approached, fists at his sides.

Nico glanced at the young camper beside him then back to Will for a moment, like a wild deer caught in the headlights, and then took off, dropping his sword.

“FREEZE, GRIM!” Will shouted and ran after him. “I’m gonna hug the ever-loving crap out of you!”

Nico pushed aside a row of Hermes kids and scrambled up the hill. Will huffed as he chased him. Man, he’d gotten fast. Must be those new strong legs of his – NO. Priorities! “Nico!” he shouted, a bit breathlessly, and crawled up after him. “Get back here and face your doom like a man!”

“No!” Nico shouted back at him as he made a beeline for the trees. He slipped on some wet leaves and grabbed onto a tree truck to support himself. He spun around as Will approached, looking nervous.

“There’s no escape!” Will chuckled evilly, hands outstretched. “I’ve got some questions and there’s no way in Tartarus I’m letting you out of my sights before I get answers!”

Nico put his hands up in defense. “Wh-whoa, Will! Just wait a second! I can explain!”

“Yeah, you’d better!” Will huffed.

Nico shrank against the trunk, hands way up. “Don’t do anything hasty! I’ll shadow-travel, I swear it!”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Nico gave him a steely look and started to melt into the shadows. Will gasped, affronted, and lunged at him. “Oh, no you don’t!”

He knew he’d made a mistake as soon as he leapt forward and Nico’s face disappeared. A moment later, he crashed into the bark and everything went dark.

…

_“Can’t believe he head-butted a tree.”_

_“What got him so mad at Nico anyways? I thought they were really good friends.”_

_“Did you see Nico run? Hilarious!”_

Will groaned and the voices shushed each other.

_“Oh, he’s waking up!”_

_“Will, can you hear us?”_

Will let out another protesting moan and blinked open his eyes. Everything was blurry and out of focus, but he knew exactly where he was. He would know the infirmary anywhere. It was like coming home after a long trip. He blinked away the dark spots in his vision and stared up at the three faces staring back at him. “Wha…?”

“Oh, thank the gods,” Lou Ellen sighed, arms dropping to her sides. “You’ve been out for hours!”

“What… what happened?” Will muttered. He hissed as a dull, throbbing pain filled his nose. “Why does my head hurt so much?”

Percy Jackson came into view and snorted. “Dude, you rammed a tree like one of those angry goats on Animal Planet!”

Grover Underwood glared at his best friend. “I take offense to that.”

“Ugh…” Will reached up to cradle his nose delicately. “Where’s Nico?”

“In hiding,” Lou Ellen said. “I think he’s around here someplace, though. Every once in a while I keep thinking I see a skeleton peeking through the window to check on you.”

“Am I concussed?” Will blinked. “I think I’m concussed.”

“Yep. Your brain is as scrambled as a plate of eggs, my friend,” Percy laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. “I have to hand it to you, though. I’ve _never_ seen Nico so panicked. What did he do anyways?”

Will groaned as he attempted to sit up. Lou Ellen immediately pushed him down. “Absolutely not! You need rest!”

Will was pretty sure he didn’t like how the positions had been reversed on him. He should be the one doing the healing not sitting in bed getting healed. “I’m fine. Broken nose, mild concussion, nothing serious.”

Lou Ellen gave him a stern glare and he settled into the covers, muttering complaints under his breath. Eventually, she managed to get Percy and Grover out of the room, stating that he needed rest.

As soon as they were alone, Will huffed. “I’m gonna kill him.”

“No, you’re not,” she replied tiredly. “You’re coo-coo for cocoa puffs over him.”

Will sighed heavily. “Why exactly is that?”

“I don’t know. You’re the one with the brain injury.”

“Mean.”

Lou Ellen sat down on the side of his bed and shrugged. “So why _are_ you so mad at Nico anyways?”

Will frowned and looked up at the ceiling. “He’s completely ignored me for six months. He showed up at my house over winter break and I seriously thought we had gotten past the whole ‘avoiding people’ thing. But then the next morning he was gone and he didn’t answer any of my Iris messages or letters. He just completely shut me out.”

Lou Ellen nodded. “No wonder he ran. I would, too.”

“I just don’t get him!” Will let out angrily. “Just one message would have been enough! Just a ‘What’s up? I’m not dead!’ would have been fine! But _no!_ He just has to do things his own way and who cares how it affects _other_ people!”

“Here.” Lou Ellen handed him an ice-pack, which he happily accepted and pressed against his nose.

“Thanks. And you know? I wouldn’t be so upset if Nico just realized how great he really was! But he thinks he's, like, a _disease_ or something! What’s with that?”

“Will—”

“Why does he have to be so… so…?” Will let out a long, frustrated growl and wringed his hands in the air. “He drives me crazy!”

“Will!”

“What?” Will snapped and turned, immediately freezing when he saw someone standing in the doorway. “Oh.”

Nico leaned against the doorframe, rubbing his arm nervously, as he stared at the ground. “Uh… yeah.” He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Lou Ellen, can I talk to him for a bit? A-alone?”

Lou Ellen glanced between Will and him for a moment before shrugging. “It’s your funeral,” she said and stood. As she passed Nico, she patted him on the shoulder. “If you need help just scream.”

“Thanks,” he muttered wryly. She gave him a thumb’s up before closing the door behind her, sealing Nico and Will in the same room. Together. Alone. Just them. Nico was rubbing his hands together anxiously as he approached, seemingly trying to find the right words. Will just glared up at the ceiling and ignored him. Nico, slowly and carefully, sat down on the edge of Will’s bed. “So, uh, I drive you crazy, huh?”

Will flushed a bit. He readjusted the ice-pack on his nose. “You heard that, huh?”

Nico shrugged. “I’m used to hearing things like that.”

Will blew a piece of hair off his face. “Don’t say that. I only said it because I’m super mad at you.”

The son of Hades blushed and looked down, twiddling his thumbs and gulping. “Y-yeah. You should be.”

He groaned and sat up, wincing at the soreness in his head. He ignored Nico’s feeble attempts to get him to lie back down. He sat beside Nico, close enough for their arms to be brushing, and sighed. “You really are an idiot.”

Nico dropped his gaze. “Right.”

An uneasy silence hung between them and Will was torn between wanting to pull him into a hug and to push him over for worrying him. Instead, he chose to frown at his shoes. “Six months, Nico. Six _months._ Why didn’t you write me?”

Nico winced. “I-I… I don’t...”

“You promised you would. I waited all year and nothing. Why?”

“I’m…” Nico groaned. “I’m not good at this!”

Will blinked. “At what?”

 _“This!”_ Nico gestured between the two of them, blushing furiously. “Friendship, or whatever! I don’t even remember my own birthday let alone how to be _friendly!_ I just ruin these kind of things, Will! It’s like you said. It’s like I’m a disease.”

Will scowled. “I didn’t mean that you were one!”

“But it’s still true. Even a year after the war with Gaea, people _still_ look at me like I’m going to stab them in the back at any moment! I’ve _tried_ to play nice but I always ruin it eventually. And I… I didn’t want…”

Will lowered his ice-pack. “You didn’t want what?”

Nico bowed his head, hiding his eyes from sight. “I didn’t want to hurt you, too.”

A heavy silence hung between them. Will was gaping in disbelief at the boy in front of him. Eventually, he found his voice. “You… didn’t want to hurt me?”

Nico gave a small nod.

Will snorted, which hurt his nose a bit. He pressed the ice to the bruise again. “Bull crap.”

Nico snapped his attention up, looking furious. “Excuse me?”

“If you didn’t want to hurt me, Nico, you should have just talked to me instead of making me look like a complete idiot asking the mailman if he had seen any femurs lying around for six months!” He huffed. “I thought you _hated_ me! That I’d offended you somehow. Only to find that you’ve been getting a tan at camp all year!”

Nico scowled. “Excuse me? Getting a tan? You think that’s all I’ve been doing?”

“That and feel sorry for yourself.” Will sniffled, checking the pack for any blood.

“Seriously? I’ve been going between camps and helping Jason with his stupid shrine promise! I’ve been helping rebuild whatever damage had been done from Gaea and training new campers! I’ve been chasing after rogue spirits for my father! I’ve been stressing out over _you—!”_ Nico clamped his mouth shut.

Will raised an eyebrow before softening. “Really, Nico, how could you ever think that by talking to me you’d eventually hurt me?”

Nico began twisting the ring around his finger. “I… I don’t want what happened with Percy to happen with you.”

Immediately, Will’s guard spiked. “What happened with Percy?”

Nico shook his head. “I already made a lot of stupid mistakes. I couldn’t let myself ruin you, too.”

“What are you—?”

“I’m _toxic,_ Will!” Nico exploded. “What’s so hard to understand about that? I belong in the shadows. I don’t mind them. You’re the freaking _sun god’s son!_ You’re so happy and caring and kind. How could you ever see anything in me except being a charity case? Once you see what I really am you’ll be done with me. So why drag it out? Just stop it before it starts and save both of us the trouble.”

Will was aghast. “You seriously think that? That I’m only pitying you? Nico! I don’t _care!”_ Nico cringed at the tone of Will’s voice and he was quick to lower it again into a low, gentle murmur. “I don’t care about whatever you’ve done in the past. You were a kid. We all did stupid stuff when we were just figuring out our powers. I only care about _now._ I care about _you._ I’m not going away. I’m not going to shun you just because you have a rough past.”

Nico let out an angry growl and stood up. “But _why?_ Why do you care about me so much? Why do you always follow me around and try so hard? Why would—?”

Will didn’t even hear what kind of self-deprecating statements followed that. In an instant, all rational thought fled from him, and he was on his feet. The ice-pack clattered against the floor and Will put both hands on Nico’s cheeks and shut Nico up in the most efficient way he knew how. Nico’s lips were surprisingly soft against his own and, if Will thought holding the demigod’s _hand_ was electrifying, then kissing him was indescribable, otherworldly. Fireworks were going off in each fiber of Will’s body and he _swore_ he could feel Nico returning the pressure as his hands bunched into Will’s camp shirt.

He wasn’t sure how long they stood there – didn’t really care, either – but eventually the need for oxygen was too great and he broke away, breathing heavily. “Does _that_ answer your question?” he said cheekily and quickly became alarmed when Nico just stared at him, unresponsive. “Nico?” Will shook him lightly, but Nico didn’t budge. His hand rose up to touch his lips but he remained completely blank otherwise.

Will shook him a bit harder. “Crap! Nico, say something!”

Nico may as well have just met a gorgon and turned to stone.

Panicking and unready to face that he had just kissed Nico di Angelo, Will called for help. “LOU ELLEN!” he squeaked. “Help! I-I think I just broke Nico!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nico needs to just admit that he's happy, Will gets a combat lesson, and marshmallows are not used for their intended purpose.

Nico poked his head out of his cabin cautiously, glancing around the premises for any late campers breaking curfew. When he saw none, he let out a sigh of relief and cautiously crawled out, making no noise as he tentatively shut the door and tiptoed down the porch steps. He barely breathed in fear of alerting anyone or anything to his presence. Thankfully, he had long-since mastered the art of moving around in the shadows and keeping quiet. He had years of living on his own to thank for that.

Normally, he would have stubbornly stayed in his cabin for days, refusing to come out for anyone. But, his stomach had gotten used to having three full meals a day and missing out on one severely messed up his schedule.

His stomach growled impatiently. Nico winced and held it as if that would stifle the noise at all. Wearily, he glanced at the Apollo cabin as he sneaked past. He was grateful that most Apollo kids tended to be conscious during the hours the sun was up and seemed to pass out as soon as it sank below the horizon.

The last thing he needed was for a particular blonde-headed medic to hear his stomach growling and come bursting out and waving around a nutrition chart. The corners of Nico's mouth twitched upwards at the thought but he was quick to dismiss it.

He was supposed to be livid at the son of Apollo. He was supposed to be cursing his name and unleashing half of hell on him. He was supposed to be long gone, hiding out at Camp Jupiter until the rumors of what happened died down. He was supposed to be a lot of things but, mainly, he was just embarrassed.

The anger he expected to feel had never showed up. The fear he had grown used to was gone. All that was left was raw confusion and humiliation and the strangest desire to jump up and down.

When Will had come back to camp, Nico knew he would be upset. Why wouldn't he be? After Nico had fallen asleep on the couch at Will's house way back in winter, he'd woken up in a fit of cold sweat. The nightmare he had had nearly made him become ill all over Mrs. Solace's nice living room. He panicked and so, as he was wont to do, he ran away.

He showed back up at Camp Half-Blood, tired and unnerved, and the other medics in the Apollo cabin fixed him up with some rest and ambrosia. He begged them not to tell Will and just hoped that Will would forget about him, would realize that he was a lost cause and move on. It was a lot easier to end things right there before Nico got too attached, let himself care too much, and had it all ripped away from him again. The thought of Will one day leaving him behind, of giving him a sneer instead of that brilliant smile, of never hearing that musical laugh again, was too much for him. His pride was too great for him to admit that he was scared. Scared, still, of his feelings and the implications they would hold.

Will was like an expensive painting; he was allowed to look and admire all he wanted but not touch. He didn't belong to Nico. He was a piece of art, no denying, but Nico would never be able to have something that beautiful at his side for long. He tried for so long with Percy. He didn't want to face the same dead end with Will, who had only ever been nothing but kind to him. A pain in the neck at times, sure, but never cruel.

But then Will turned up and everything went upside down. He hadn't expected for Will to be so angry that he'd chase him right through camp and lunge at him. He slipped in the shadows for his own protection and carried Will to the infirmary after the idiot had knocked himself out, summoning a bit of help from a few skeletons.

Then, he hid out in his cabin, fiddling with his ring. Occasionally, he sent out some more skeletons to check on Will and give him a status report. As soon as he heard he was awake, Nico was on his feet before he could realize what he was doing.

The raw worry he'd felt, the fear of losing another person that got too close to him, was what pushed him into the infirmary room where Will and Lou Ellen were talking. He heard his name in conversation and faltered.

He explained his case, hoped that Will would understand, and prepared himself for Will to end their friendship completely.

But then he'd done something he never would have expected in a million years.

Nico reached up to touch his lips, flushing lightly at the memory of their kiss. _Their_ kiss. Will and Nico's kiss. Will _kissed_ him. _Him!_

He realized he was beaming so wide his cheeks hurt. He slapped himself a bit until it faded away again.

Then Nico had ruined it. Again.

He froze. Plain and simple. He shut down. His thoughts just flat-lined. He knew Will was shouting at him, shaking him desperately and apologizing profusely. Nico tried to answer, he really did, but the strange feeling surging through him made it impossible to speak. It paralyzed him and only now did Nico recognize what that feeling was. It had been such a long time since he had felt it so strongly that it had actually rendered him immobile.

He was _happy._

Still, after the scene he had caused, he couldn't find it in himself to approach Will again. He may have been happy after… _after_ , but he was still embarrassed.

Half the camp had heard what went down. Percy's loud mouth blabbed to any ear that would listen. Nico could hear him from the infirmary. _"I SWEAR on the river STYX! Will was shouting that he'd broken Nico and we ran in and there he was just holding his mouth like he'd been kissed! KISSED!"_

That had been Nico's cue to flee into his cabin, and that was where he stayed until eleven o'clock at night, after he was certain Will Solace had gone to sleep.

Nico snuck to the Big House, avoiding the entrance to the infirmary, and slid into the rec room, knowing exactly where the Hermes cabin hid all of their contraband snack foods. He was just pulling out a bag of Oreos when someone cleared a throat.

Nico jumped in surprise, dropping the Oreos. They scattered all across the floor. Nico's eye twitched. He glared in the direction of the intruder and his irritation grew when he saw who it was. "Grace," Nico huffed. "Shouldn't you be in China building a shrine to some rice god by now?"

Jason sighed. "I decided to stay for a few more days. I missed this place. And my cabin isn't exactly in a livable condition at the moment so Chiron is letting me crash here." He gestured to the fallen Oreos. "Why are you scavenging?"

Nico's stomach growled loudly. He blushed and looked away while Jason just laughed and held out a bag of chips. "Here."

Nico snatched it, still blushing, and popped a chip in his mouth.

"I feel like I'm trying to pet a little rabbit in the wild," Jason chuckled and sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall with a yawn.

"Who're you calling a little rabbit?" Nico hissed and joined him, keeping a respectable distance.

"You." Jason reached over and grabbed a few chips. "I heard about the act you pulled earlier. Like a rabbit disappearing into a hat."

Nico's ears went red. "Does _everyone_ know?"

"Pretty much." Jason swallowed his mouthful of junk food. "You okay?"

Nico shrugged, digging his toe into the carpet.

"You wanna talk about it?"

He sighed and leaned his head back against the wall. "Talk about what exactly? How I'm an idiot? How he's an idiot? I think you already know that."

Jason chuckled. "Well, duh, I already know that part. But…"

"But?"

"Well, Will Solace is still walking around with both his legs and a heartbeat so obviously you didn't _hate_ the kiss."

"Oh my gods!" Nico covered his face with his hands. "Can we talk about anything but _that?"_

"So it's seriously true? He kissed you?"

"Wh-what does it matter? H-he obviously didn't mean it! He was confused! And… and emotional!"

Jason broke into laughter. "Oh, innocent little rabbit, only you would be so oblivious."

"O-oblivious? To what?"

"To how much Will likes you!" Jason poked Nico's arm. "You'd have to be a plant to not see that!"

Nico glared at him.

"Sorry. Poorly worded. But the point is the same."

Nico sighed. "All right, all right! I hear you, okay? It's just… I'm… I'm not… _open._ About… about _any_ of this!"

"There's no reason why you can't be," Jason said softly. "I know and nothing's changed. Annabeth and Percy know and nothing's changed."

Nico shook his head. "I don't just mean my… my…" He gestured wildly. " _Attractions._ I mean talking in general. About me. Anything me. I get… awkward."

"No kidding," Jason teased and Nico shoved him. "You can talk to me. Kind of."

"Well, yeah," Nico muttered. "But, no offense, but I'm not trying to get with _you."_

"Fair enough." He nodded. "What does your gut tell you?"

Nico fidgeted. He was already way out of his comfort zone. He might as well go the whole nine yards. He sighed and hugged his knees to his chest. "That I should find Will and apologize."

"And then?"

Nico managed a weak smile. "Haven't gotten that far yet."

"Well, do you like him?"

Nico rolled his eyes.

"Okay, so you like him. No need to get snarky." Jason yawned. "So go tell him that."

"Wh-what?"

"Go tell Will you like him."

"No!"

"Why not? He obviously likes you or he wouldn't have kissed you!"

"AGH!" Nico groaned, hiding his head in his arms. "Why is this so hard?"

Jason patted his back comfortingly. "Dude, relationships are _always_ tough. I mean, just today, Piper and I were just chatting, right? Perfectly normal conversation. When somehow it turned into a fight about _tulips._ Have you ever gotten into a fight with someone for fifteen minutes about _tulips?"_

Nico, despite himself, snorted. "How do you fight about tulips?"

"Which colors are natural, their meaning, where they grow in the wild," Jason listed them off on his fingers. "I don't even know. I think it started on which flowers to use with which shrine." He sighed and shook his head. "Gods forbid you mention the wrong flower type with the wrong goddess."

"That makes literally no sense."

"Right? I'm telling you, man! They're all crazy!" Jason pushed up his glasses. "All I'm saying is I can see why you don't want to deal with a chick."

Nico broke into laughter. "I don't think that's quite why, but fine. Sure. Whatever."

Jason laughed. "Probably not. But, hey. I bet you never thought you'd be having this conversation a year ago, huh?"

Nico fell silent at that.

"Look, Nico, what I'm trying to say is that you've come a long way. You're hardly the same angry kid that stormed the Roman lines in a Hawaiian luau shirt."

"I told you to never mention that abomination again. I was out of options. It was the only shirt we could find."

Jason held up his hands. "Whoa, I'm not judging you, man! Even if it was fluorescent!"

Nico hit him again, satisfied when Jason let out a hiss of pain. _"Damn,_ and you've gotten stronger, too!" He chuckled as he rubbed his shoulder. Nico huffed and looked at the carpet. Jason fished the bag of chips away from him and started munching. "Look… if you can lug a huge statue across the ocean or face Tartarus and kick it in the ass then this should be a walk in the park."

Nico exhaled slowly. "You're right."

"And at least now you know you won't be rejected!"

"Not helping, Grace."

"Right, right."

Nico hesitated for a moment before lightly shoving Jason's shoulder. "Thanks."

"No problem."

"But if you tell _anyone_ about this talk—"

"Bones where the sun don't shine. Got it."

That morning, Chiron found them both asleep on the floor of the rec room, surrounded by Oreos and chips. Nico tried to explain but Chiron only turned away. "I don't even want to know," he called over his shoulder.

…

Walking to the Apollo cabin had taken a lot longer than usual or maybe that was because of Nico was counting the minutes in heartbeats, and his heart was racing a mile per minute. His palms were sweaty so he wiped them on his pants before rapping his knuckles against the door.

Another Apollo kid answered, holding a flute in one hand and looking rather annoyed at being interrupted from practicing. "Training grounds," was all he said before closing the door again.

Nico sighed and made his way over, feeling twice as nervous as before. He spotted Will immediately. The demigod was practically radiating in the setting sunlight. He stood by the archery range, flinging arrow after arrow into the monster-shaped targets down the field. Each arrow was in either an arm or leg, completely missing any vital areas. Nico knew it wasn't because Will lacked good aim but because – even when facing a monster – he didn't want anyone to die.

His heart squeezed tightly as he remembered Bryce Lawrence and almost lost his nerve, but remembered that it was _Will_ and Nico had to trust him. He had to try.

He watched Will for a moment, noting the changes the last six months had brought. Will had gotten, if possible, even more attractive since Nico had seen him last. He had gotten his deep tan back, his hair was styled ever-so-slightly more to the side, and his features had become more defined, more mature-looking. A year had changed them both.

Will suddenly realized he was being watched and lowered his bow, turning to face Nico with wide eyes. Nico gave a shy shrug and lifted a sword, bouncing the hilt in his hand. He looked up at Will. "Wanna spar?"

Will looked unsure. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm, uh, not really good with swords."

"No problem," Nico said and tossed him the sword, which in hindsight probably wasn't the smartest thing to do with someone as inexperienced with weaponry as Will. He thankfully caught it without impaling himself.

Will held it like it had offended him.

Nico shook his head and walked over. "You're never going to disarm anybody if you hold it like that. Like this." He took a fighting stance, keeping his knees bent and loose with his feet shoulder-width apart and his elbows close to his sides. Will tried to copy him, but it looked more like he was going to swing a baseball bat than a sword. Nico shook his head again and stepped closer. "Put your hands here and here," he muttered, moving Will's hands into the correct positions, ignoring the little gasp Will let out upon contact.

His own cheeks heated up, but he stepped back. "Now… knees bent. Elbows in."

Will listened and, though it wasn't perfect, his stance was much better than it had been previously.

"Good," Nico praised, using the tone he usually reserved for the younger campers that he sometimes gave lessons to. "Now, don't think of it as a weapon, okay? Just… just think about it as being a part of your arm. All you have to do is reach out and take this." He held up his own sword. "Got it?"

Will managed an uneasy smile. "Easy-peasy lemon squeezey.

Nico's lips twitched and he went back to his previous stance. "Good. _Go!"_

Will swung clumsily at him, lacking any force whatsoever, and Nico rolled his eyes. He responded by letting their swords clash together, forcing Will to use strength to keep it in his hand.

_Listen to me…_

Will gasped and fumbled back, but tightened his grip on the hilt and pushed back. He threw Nico's sword off of his and carefully made another swing that Nico deflected easily.

_I'm really bad at words._

Will jabbed at him again, this time with real force that surprised Nico for a moment before he launched back into battle-mode, keeping his movements light and easy to follow so that Will could have time to respond to them.

_I don't always mean the things I say or the things I do._

Nico went on the offensive, getting a little fancy with his swordplay just to show-off a little. Will managed to block him efficiently and even tried to trip him up like the sneak he was. Will was grinning.

_But I really do trust you. Or, at least, I'm trying._

Nico was grinning back and soon they were practically dancing around the training arena, swords clanging loudly as they clashed with easy, precise moves. They weren't fighting to win, they weren't even practicing really, they were just enjoying each other's company, and Nico found that it was pretty easy to just let himself feel it and forget everything else.

_So don't give up on me just yet._

Their swords hit and their eyes met. Suddenly, they just froze, breathing hard and searching each other's eyes for something unknown. The setting sun was just behind Will, casting him as a silhouette, a shadow with a sliver of a scarlet halo cresting over his head. Then, Will broke into a warm smile and Nico knew his message had been received.

Before Nico could open his mouth – to apologize or to make some sort of smart comment about his swordplay – Will took advantage of his hesitation and, with a quick flick of the wrist, Nico's sword was lying on the ground.

"I win!" Will laughed, winking at Nico merrily.

Nico just smiled and rubbed his hand. "I knew you could." He kicked up some dirt and knew that Will was still looking at him for some sort of sign to continue forwards. He took a deep breath and looked at nothing in particular as long as it wasn't at Will's curious stare. "There's, uh, gonna be a bonfire tonight…"

Will tilted his head to the side. "Yeah…?"

Nico's mouth twitched. He swallowed down his nerves and trudged through. "I was, er, wondering… if…"

Will took a step forward. "If?"

Nico bit his lower lip. Was that jerk smiling at him? He groaned. "If you wanted to go. You know. Together. As in—"

"—A date?" Will finished. Nico peered up at him anxiously, but Will was only watching him with a kind smile on his face. He waited for Nico to nod before responding. "Yeah."

Nico snapped his attention back up. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. I mean, I'd like that. A lot. So…"

"So. Yeah."

"Yes."

"Good. Er, cool."

Will burst into laughter. "We're terrible at this!"

Nico relaxed. "We really are."

"But the bonfire! Tonight!"

"Seven."

"Right. Do you want me to meet you at your cabin or…?"

"That's fine." Nico smoothed out his shirt and inched over. "Don't be late."

"I won't, I won't."

Nico nodded. "And, one more thing, Solace."

Will smiled. "Yeah, di Angelo?"

Nico gestured to the fallen sword and lifted himself up on his tiptoes – blushing at still being so much shorter than the other boy – and let his lips brush against Will's ear. "Nice moves."

...

At seven o'clock, Nico was a nervous wreck. His hair wouldn't sit right. His shirt had a little hole in it near the hem. And the only clean jeans he had were the black ones with all the holes. He groaned and hit his head off of the mirror. He was hopeless.

There was a knock at his door and Nico's heart flew into his throat. "C-coming!" He winced at the highness of his voice and tried not to run to the door. He controlled himself even as he opened it and saw Will waiting with a sheepish smile and wearing his bright blue hoodie.

"Hi," Will whispered.

"Hey." Nico tried to lean against the door but stumbled and instead straightened up to cross his arms. "Er, hi."

Will managed to suppress his chuckles, for which Nico was grateful. "Well, you ready to go?"

"Sure. Let's go."

The walk up was awkward, but not terribly so. Will tried to fill it with casual chatter. Nico was grateful and tried to play it cool, but he quickly realized that he had no idea what 'cool' meant these days. He was rather relieved when they reached the bonfire and they could just find a spot to sit and be surrounded by familiar people. Somehow watching Jason and Percy competing over which one of them could roast the most marshmallows at once helped ease the pressure.

"Ten bucks Percy fails," Nico muttered to Will, who snorted.

"You're on."

A moment later, Percy let out a dismayed moan as half of the dozen marshmallows that were on his single stick slid off and fell into the fire. Nico held out his hand expectantly. Will handed him a marshmallow instead, grinning, and Nico threw it at him. "I don't have any money!" Will laughed.

"Figures." Nico chuckled.

They went largely unnoticed by the campers. A few gave them questioning glances and looked at each other with raised eyebrows, but Nico didn't feel threatened by them. Instead, he sort of felt relieved. He much preferred them gossiping about how he was with Will rather than how terrifying and awful he was.

"S'more?" Will asked.

Nico nodded. "Please."

Will hummed as he roasted two marshmallows, periodically having to stop to blow the flames off of them. Nico himself wanting to lean into Will's warmth but kept himself still. He wasn't sure if that was allowed or not just yet. Heck, he wasn't even sure if this counted as a real date when they would have both been there regardless of whether or not they came together. But they had. They had come together. So that meant something, right?

As Will handed him a s'more that he proclaimed he'd painstakingly, specially crafted just for Nico, he decided that yes. It did mean something.

He inched closer until their thighs pressed together. Will either didn't notice or didn't mind, and Nico hoped it was the latter. "You have a bit of chocolate," Will laughed, reaching up, "right here." He ran his thumb along the corner of Nico's mouth and he blushed heatedly when he heard a few campers start chatting excitedly.

He forced himself not to snap at Will for drawing attention to them, but he did glare at Percy and Jason, daring them to say something. Percy was tapping Annabeth's shoulder repeatedly like a child tattling to a teacher. Jason just snuck him a thumb's up as he wrapped an arm around Piper. Nico cracked a smile, returning the gesture, but kept his arms to himself.

He failed to hide the shock on his face when Will pulled the classic yawn-and-stretch card, over exaggerating his movements and giving Nico plenty of time to stop of him if needed. Nico didn't. So Will slipped his arm behind Nico and rested it on the log by his waist. Not quite holding him but close. The intent had been clear.

He noticed how Will's gaze flickered over to him repeatedly, gauging his reaction nervously, like a trapeze artist trying to find his balance, as his arm ever-so-slowly wound around his side. When he'd first felt Will's arm grazing his shoulder, Nico's first instinct was to tense up and raise his shoulders uncomfortably. In an instant, Will went back to his starting place. Nico snuck a glance at him, noting how the usually confident and laidback medic was staring intently at the fire, cheeks red. The stiffness in Nico's muscles began to ease away.

What was he getting so worked up over? It was _Will._ It was the same idiot that had used himself as bait to lure Roman soldiers away from Nico, Lou Ellen, and Cecil, that had rendered him deaf from the three days of hygiene lectures in the infirmary, that had stalked him during capture the flag just to be sure he wouldn't get hurt. On the other hand, it was because of these types of things that were _exactly_ why Nico was getting so worked up over Will Solace. No one had ever tried so hard for him. No one that was obligated to.

Trying to seem nonchalant, Nico leaned against the frozen blonde and felt him momentarily become even _tenser_ before suddenly relaxing. Will let out a slow exhale and brought his hand up to rest on Nico's upper back, hidden from prying eyes, and kept it there. At the smug look on Will's face, Nico had to smile.

Around ten, Will yawned for the fifth time. Nico gave him a stern look. "Are you tired?"

Will shrugged. "I'm all right. I don't really wanna move." He emphasized his point by squeezing Nico's fingers.

Blushing, Nico withdrew his hand. "You should sleep, Will. It's fine."

Will pouted but followed Nico's lead and stood up. "All right. G'night everybody!"

They received some goodnights in return, followed by a few catcalls and whistles. Nico glared daggers at them all but Will just steered him away. "Easy, Killer," Will mumbled. "I don't feel like having to patch anyone up right now."

Nico huffed, and they walked towards the cabins. "If anyone, I'd hit Percy."

Will chuckled. "Because of his little game idea? You already got him pretty good earlier."

Percy had pleaded for a round of good ole fashioned 'Never Have I Ever' and, after winning half-hearted approvals from a few bored campers, he started off with 'kissed a guy' and immediately looked at Nico and Will widely, as if looking for confirmation. Nico had promptly thrown a marshmallow at his face.

Will elbowed him lightly. "You know, I don't condone violence."

"You were the one that handed me the marshmallow!"

"Well, you have the better aim!"

They grinned and Nico was immensely relieved that things weren't as awkward as he'd feared. They could mention what happened in the infirmary the other day without wanting to melt into a puddle of nerves and mortification, at least.

They stopped in front of the Apollo cabin.

"So… you—?" Nico started but cut himself off. Things were still exceedingly awkward in every other aspect.

Will looked at him questioningly. "Me…?"

Nico flushed. "So, uh, I had a good time."

"Oh." Will fidgeted where he stood. "Yeah. Me too." He took a step closer. "We could always… do this again, you know."

"Yeah," Nico muttered, trying not to seem too eager, trying to block out the sound of his heartbeat rushing in his ears.

Will smiled a bit before looking strangely serious again. Nico could see the uncertainty in his eyes coupled with another emotion that Nico couldn't identify. While he was stuck in his musings, he barely noticed how Will diminished the distance between them step by step, heartbeat by heartbeat, until suddenly he was right there and his hands were on Nico's shoulders and he was leaning in and Nico knew what was coming but he didn't believe it anyways. He prepped himself to meet Will halfway, to push himself up on his tiptoes despite how embarrassing that was, but stopped when he heard Will whisper, "You're not going to freak out this time, are you?"

Nico deflated. The mood _quite_ ruined, he flicked Will lightly on the forehead. "Idiot!" he hissed. "It was my first kiss so shut up!"

Will smirked and cupped Nico's cheek carefully. Nico ignored the instinct to shrug him off, too focused on how annoyingly _perfect_ those teeth were. "Can I do number two?"

Nico choked back a laugh and ended up making an embarrassing snorting noise. "That was poorly worded."

Will pouted. "Nico!" he whined, no doubt upset that his attempt at romance hadn't gone the way he'd hoped.

Nico swallowed down his nerves and slowly let his hands grip the front of Will's shirt. Tugging him a bit closer, Nico leaned in. "Just do it already."

Will beamed. "Aye, aye." He cupped Nico's other cheek and let their lips graze together before making to pull back. Nico rolled his eyes and chased after him, bouncing up onto his tiptoes, and met him for a real kiss.

He thought he'd been ready that time for the burst of warmth that filled him at the touch, but he was pretty certain he'd never be able to fully get used to it. He smiled against Will's lips, feeling sickeningly giddy. It was a feeling he was sure he'd never be used to, either.

Will's laugh was breathless as their noses nuzzled together. "What's so funny?"

Nico shook his head. "Nothing," he muttered and sighed as Will hugged him tightly.

_Just happy._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Few things:  
> 1\. I went back and tweaked some stuff so if anyone rereading notices anything funky please let me know! ;w; Danke!
> 
> 2\. Okay so you might notice this is now a ‘series’ but, really, I’m just grouping all the ‘canon’ fics into one place. You can think of them all being related to each other but they don’t follow any real linear order. It’s really just so I can keep stuffs organised! :3


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Apollo cabin share their thoughts and Will forgets what number comes after seven.

Will woke up to find a group of his siblings all crowded around him, poking his cheek and placing palms on his foreheads and muttering amongst themselves.

_“Is he sick?”_

_“He doesn’t feel warm.”_

_“Maybe he got cursed.”_

_“Aphrodite cabin?”_

_“Probably.”_

Will blinked at them. “Uh… good morning?”

Austin stepped forward, head tilted in an inquisitive fashion. “Are you feeling okay, Will?”

Will snorted and sat up. What a strange question to ask at – he glanced at the clock – six-thirty in the morning. “Never better,” he answered with a bright smile. And it was true. The last few days have been the best of his life. “Why?”

His siblings exchanged glances. “Well,” Austin continued, “it’s just… you seem even more chipper than usual. And that’s saying something.”

“You were even smiling and humming in your sleep!” Kayla interjected. “It’s really hard to sleep when the head of the cabin keeps humming _‘Fix You’_ out of tune!”

Will internally winced. “I did _not!_ And even if I did, it wouldn’t be out of tune!”

“Will,” Austin sighed, “Kayla literally kept me up all night because she kept correcting you. The whole cabin got into a humming war over it.”

Will shrugged. Musical wars were nothing new in his cabin. If someone got lyrics wrong or messed up a chorus then suddenly it was like they were all a group of Broadway actors that were just given two days to put on a production. Will never really got into the whole craze but it was fun as hell to watch them all sing at each other aggressively.

“Look, did someone put a curse on you?” Austin asked. “Aphrodite cabin, am I right? Got yourself in the crossfire of some sort of lover’s quarrel? We can help you, bruh, but you gotta tell us!”

Will pushed Austin’s face away from his, ignoring the indignant squawk his half-brother gave, and sighed. “Seriously? I’m not cursed! _And I’m not tone deaf!”_ he added with a stern glance at Kayla, who had been whispering to their sisters.

She straightened up. “You’re going to have to come to terms with it eventually, you know.”

Austin popped back up on Will’s other side. “Is it your concussion? Did it not heal correctly?”

Will shoved him aside again. “Look! Guys! No curses! No concussions! I’m just… _happy!_ Okay?”

They discussed that option for a bit. Will took advantage of their debate to slip out of bed. He didn’t expect for the whole cabin to follow after him like a herd. He rolled his eyes. “You guys gonna follow me to the bathroom, too?”

They collectively shook their heads and took a step back.

Will sighed in relief and ducked into the bathrooms before any more questions could be uttered. He got ready and stared at his reflection for a few moments. He failed to put his hair into any sort of order. Why did it always have to stick up in the back? Had he always had that freckle on the top of his nose? Oh, gods, he sounded like an Aphrodite kid.

Shaking himself, he stepped out of the bathhouse and let his shoulders fall as his cabin had congregated around him once more.

“Why?” Kayla asked bluntly. “I mean, don’t get us wrong! We’re happy you’re happy! But, uh…”

Will thought of Nico and started to blush. “I just… it’s… why does it matter?”

“Oh my gods!” Austin snapped his fingers. “I knew I hit the target when I mentioned Aphrodite! Will’s got himself a date!”

The Apollo campers all let out mocking Ooo’s that still somehow synchronized into effortless chords.

Will choked. “Aw, come on, guys! It’s not that big of a deal, is it?”

Kayla threw up her hands and pressed them to her temples, pretending to think very hard. “OH! Wait! I’m having a vision!” she teased. She opened her eyes and winked. “I’m seeing a lot of skulls and darkness! It’s Nico, isn’t it?”

Will spluttered out, eyes switching from side to side, and looked for an escape route. “Breakfast!” he blurted out, voice much higher than normal. “Who’s hungry?”

The younger campers immediately took the bait and fled to the dining pavilion. He took advantage of the distraction and ran along with him, ignoring the pointed looks he received from the older, less oblivious campers. As the Apollo kids filed in one after the other along the tables, Will did a head count, muttering names to himself as he went, oblivious to the camper approaching him. “Kayla, Austin, Jamie, Taylor, Nico, Daniel—Nico!” Will spun back to the sole Hades son who was standing beside him, arms crossed and a bored – yet passive – look on his face.

“Morning,” he muttered before stifling a yawn.

“You look… uh, tired.” Will frowned at the dark bags underneath Nico’s bloodshot eyes. His hair was a wreck and looked almost as if he’d been running. He was still wearing the same clothes as the night before, but his sword was attached to his side and Will noticed some dried mud on Nico’s boots and fingerless gloves. “Did you get _any_ sleep?”

“Underworld problem.” Nico yawned again. “My father needed me to do his dirty work again.”

Will didn’t like the sound of that. “Were you hurt?”

“Hm?” he hummed sleepily. “Oh, no. Literally, Hades made me do dirty work. Apparently some rogue harpies got into Persephone’s garden and I had to round them up. No biggie, just a lot of yelling and trudging through dirt.”

Will nodded, though his eyes still flickered along Nico’s body, looking for the slightest tear in his clothing, the tiniest flinch of pain flashing across exhausted features, any signals that tapped into his fierce desire to wrap the son of Hades in bubble-wrap and hold him tight. He wanted to stay close and hold a large “STOP” sign at anyone that came too close to him with a sharp object. But, mostly, he wanted Nico to eat some breakfast and then go to sleep. Kind of backwards, but if Nico was going to be insistent on being nocturnal then Will would let it slide. For now, anyways.

“You should eat,” he said. Nico swayed on his feet for a moment, muttering what was probably a protest. Will snapped his fingers in front of his face. “Hey, Nico! Can you even hear me?”

Nico swatted at him. “’M awake!”

“Barely,” Will chuckled. “All right, fine. Sleep first. Can you make it to your cabin without falling over?”

Nico managed a nod. “Yeah. I was on my way there, actually, but I saw you leading your cabin here and figured I’d, you know, say good morning.”

Will’s concerned frown split into a grin. “Yeah, you’re tired. Go get some shuteye, Bonehead.”

Nico was too exhausted to argue, which amused Will far too much. He muttered a goodbye and stumbled off. Will watched him go before Kayla cleared her throat obviously. Immediately, he glanced back at his cabin seated behind him. They were all either waggling their eyebrows, winking, or making kissy noises at him.

“Oh, shut up,” he told them and sat down.

…

The infirmary was busy. The Ares cabin had gotten in a scuffle with the Hecate cabin about which group had the arena scheduled for that day. Needless to say, Will was on his feet all day. It was minor things, really. A few sprained ankles, bruises, some campers had sprouted animal ears and tails. Nothing new. The Hecate curses would wear off eventually and injuries like sprains or fractures were an easy fix. Yet, he’d worked straight through lunch and barely stopped to catch his breath. He could already feel the strain of overusing his abilities in his muscles, and there was still so much to do.

“Take a break,” Clovis told him as he lulled some of the more injured (and stubborn) campers to sleep. “We got this.”

Will shook his head. “No offense, but every time I turn around you fall asleep.” Clovis opened his mouth but Will continued, “My brain won’t turn off while there are still untreated campers in here. It’s my curse.”

Around three o’clock, Percy came in with Annabeth at his side. She was yelling at him to keep his elbow elevated. Percy grimaced but did as he was told. “This is dumb,” he huffed.

“Hey, guys,” Will greeted, approaching them. “What’s up?”

Annabeth nudged Percy. “Tell him what happened.”

Percy glanced up at the ceiling as if asking his uncle to strike him down right then and there. “I fell off the rock wall.”

“And _how_ did you fall off the rock wall?”

Percy sighed. “Annabeth pushed me off.”

“Why?”

“I slipped and, well… I tried to regain my balance and…”

“He _groped_ me!” Annabeth crossed her arms, blushing. “In front of _everyone._ Including Chiron! Idiot!”

“I was _falling!”_ Percy protested. “Besides, it’s not like I’ve never—!”

“ _O-kay!”_ Will clapped his hands together. “Details don’t really matter. Why don’t you just come on back and I’ll patch you right up. Annabeth, you can just wait here. It’s kind of crowded in the back.”

Annabeth gave an indifferent shrug, still red-faced, and Will led Percy back to the beds and motioned for him to sit. Percy plopped down. “Gods, she’s crazy! I mean, what was I supposed to do? Just let myself fall? It was instinct!”

Will snorted as he looked at Percy’s elbow. “You got pushed off anyways.”

“Damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” Percy sighed. “Besides, at least it was my _girlfriend!_ Like, wouldn’t you rather clutch onto Nico than, like, me or Jason?”

Will sputtered. “W-well, th-that’s… I mean…” He ran a hand through his hair and glanced up at the ceiling. “Geez, what’s with everyone bringing that up today?”

Percy chuckled as Will started to heal him. “It’s the only thing people are talking about.”

Will glanced at him wryly and remember Jason’s stern lecture before he left for the summer. “Oh, gods, you’re not going to threaten me, too, are you?”

Percy snorted. “Nah. I’m rooting for you guys. I mean, Nico deserves to be happy. And it’s sort of hard to tell with all the cursing and the brooding but… I think he is.”

Will had to will himself not flush. He felt like a teen getting a father’s permission to take his daughter to prom. It was quiet while Will finished up healing his elbow. “Done,” he said and Percy flexed his arm, looking impressed. Will rubbed his hands; they always got a little sore after healing so much.

“Awesome!” Percy piped. “Thanks, man!”

Will nodded, hesitated, and then spoke again. “Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“What happened between you and Nico?”

The atmosphere in the room changed on a dime. Percy looked surprised and then a bit sheepish, like he wasn’t sure if he should say anything or not. “Nico and I,” he started, sounding unsure, “have a history. That’s for sure. I just didn’t realize how much until last summer.”

“I’m not following.”

“Sorry, Will.” Percy gave him a sympathetic smile. “Maybe Nico should explain.”

Will felt even worse than before, but he nodded again.

Percy clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks again for healing me up. That’s seriously so cool. Can you, like, do cavities and stuff, too?”

Despite himself, Will grinned. “Honestly, I have no idea. I’ve never tried.”

Percy seemed to consider that for a moment. “Well, one way to find out. If I ever need a root canal I’ll come straight to you.”

Will never knew when Percy was joking or being serious. He just laughed politely and nodded. “Okay, then.”

Percy thanked him again before joining Annabeth out front. They squabbled the whole way out the door. Will watched them go, lost in thought.

…

By the time the infirmary settled down, Will was exhausted. He dropped himself on top of the step-stool in the supply closet and leaned back despite the way the boxes and shelves dug awkwardly into his back. He flexed his hands again.

“Will?” someone called from the hallway.

“In here,” he answered automatically, still looking at his hands.

He heard footsteps approaching and looked up when the door was pushed open wider. Nico was there, looking much more well-rested and alert than that morning. He also looked rather annoyed. “What are you doing?”

Will dropped his hands and shrugged. “Inventory. We had a busy day so I wanna see what we need stocked.”

Nico nodded. “Yeah, Percy told me about the Ares versus Hecate thing.”

Will tensed. “Did he?”

“He told me about the rock wall incident, too.” Nico snorted. “He also said something about you taking up dentistry?”

Will forced a chuckle. “He came in with a sprained elbow. I just sort of played along.”

Nico didn’t respond right away. He was watching Will in the same analytical way that Will had done that morning, as if scanning him for any wounds. “What’s wrong?” he demanded – not asked – and Will raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?”

“You look worse than I did this morning, which is saying something.” Nico’s tone was gentle, lacking the bite that he normally used.

Will just shook his head. “I’m just a little tired from healing all day, that’s all.” He rubbed at his left hand.

Nico noticed and stomped over. He snatched up Will’s hand and glared at it. “Gods, your hands are _burning!”_ he gasped and cupped it between both of his. It felt cool and soft, like an icepack but way better.

Will’s heart leapt up to his throat. “Uh,” he croaked. “It’s just a side-effect from over healing.”

Nico just huffed indignantly and mumbled about hypocrite doctors but he didn’t let go of his hand. In fact, he squeezed tighter. Will squeezed back, unable to meet Nico’s gaze. Still, what Percy had said earlier was swimming around in his head. He wanted to ask so badly, but he also didn’t want to push Nico into anything. He bit his lower lip.

Nico took his expression as discomfort and started to slacken his grip, but Will held fast and placed his other hand on top of Nico’s. “Can I… can I ask you something p-personal?”

Nico’s eyes widened in surprise, but gave a hesitant, slight nod.

Will took a deep breath. “Percy.” Nico tensed under Will’s hand. “What… what happened with that?”

Nico clearly hadn’t been expecting for the son of Poseidon to be the topic. He glared down at the floor, hair obscuring his eyes. For a moment, he looked like the pale, scrawny kid sulking in the infirmary again. Will hastened to assure him. “I-I mean, you don’t have to answer that. Sorry.”

Nico shook his head. “I-it’s fine. I’m over it.”

“It?”

“Him.”

“Him? Oh. You mean… oh.” Will wasn’t sure what the sinking feeling in his chest was. Percy Jackson was the great hero, star of Camp Half-Blood. For all his faults, Percy Jackson was still one of the bravest, strongest, and kindest demigods Will knew. How was he supposed to compete with _that?_ “Did you ever…?”

“Oh, gods, no!” Nico grimaced. “I never even tried anything. After Bianca died…” He looked away. “It was rough, you know?”

Will did know. He understood what it was like to lose a sibling. Michael and Lee had taken him under their wing. Lee had been the first one to show Will around the infirmary when he first came to camp. Michael was the one that showed him how to properly shoot an arrow. He pulled Nico closer with a sigh. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, even as he began putting together the pieces in his head – why exactly Nico had stayed in the shadows. Inexplicably, anger started to bubble up, but not directed at Nico. He was thinking about Percy and how, even before Bianca’s death, he used to brush aside Nico’s attempts to talk him. Then he felt angry with himself for thinking like that.

Nico shrugged. “I don’t exactly want to talk about it. I made an idiot of myself and that’s pretty much the whole story in a nutshell.”

Will nodded understandingly. He didn’t want to talk about Michael and Lee most days, either. He sighed and squeezed Nico’s hand tighter. “You don’t have to. But, I’ll always be here to listen, whenever you do.” He gave a reassuring smile. “For the record, I _always_ thought you were an idiot.”

Nico cuffed him lightly on the head. “Jerk.”

“Brat.”

“Moron.”

Will hadn’t realized they’d been moving closer to each other until he felt Nico’s breath hit his lips. Will wasn’t sure who initiated it that time. He just knew that one moment he was looking into Nico’s obsidian eyes, running his thumb along the diminishing dark bags, and the next he was struggling to remember to breathe through his nose as his mouth was busy saying hello to a very eager pair of lips.

“Four,” he breathed out when they broke apart, slowly opening his eyes.

Nico blinked. “What?”

“That’s the fourth time we’ve kissed,” Will explained. “Once in the private room, twice in front of my cabin, and once in here.”

Nico furrowed his eyebrows. “You keep track of how many times we kiss?”

Just hearing Nico confirm the action made Will’s stomach flutter. He smiled sheepishly. “Yeah?”

Nico scoffed and shook his head. Then, before Will could feel too embarrassed, he tilted Will’s chin so that they were face-to-face again. “Bet I can make you lose count.”

He was certain his face was a deep red, but he didn’t care. He just grinned. “Terms?”

Nico chuckled. “Shut up, Solace,” he muttered and sealed their lips together again.

_Five, six, seven…_

Will tried to keep count – he really did – but Nico’s fingers were slipping into his hair and his brain turned to mush. He decided that ‘too many to count’ wasn’t a bad answer.

…

The next day, Will attempted to practice his archery, but his thoughts kept going back to last night, to the supply closet, to when he’d _made out_ with Nico di Angelo.

He felt a lurch run through his stomach and the arrow between his fingers prematurely slipped.

“WATCH IT, WILL!” Katie Gardner hissed at him. “You hit my target!”

“Sorry,” Will called over at her. “It slipped!”

Katie shook her head before taking form again.

Will faced his own target and drew another arrow from his quiver. As he raised his bow and focused on the red circles ahead of him, he heard a familiar laugh. A little to the left, Percy was talking to two newer campers, probably showing them around.

Immediately, a wave of anger crashed over Will as he remembered the hurt look on Nico’s face whenever Will had brought up the son of Poseidon. The reason why Nico had run away, had felt so alone, had tried so hard. Will gritted his teeth and changed his aim suddenly, pointing his arrow just a foot or so to the left of Percy’s grin and let it fly without a rational thought at all. He watched in satisfaction as it soared past Percy with a noticeable _whoosh_ before hitting the tree beside him. Percy jumped and spun around, face wide with shock and a bit green.

“My bad, Jackson!” Will called over smugly.

Percy just gaped between him, the arrow, and back at him.

 _“William Solace,”_ an angry voice hissed behind him. Will froze. “Just what was that?”

Stomach dropping, Will spun around to find an angry Italian glaring up at him. “N-Nico!” He gulped. “Wh-what was what?”

“Will, _please_ tell me you didn’t just try to filet Percy.”

“I wasn’t aiming for him!” Will defended truthfully. He would never hurt anyone. Scare them just a little? Yes. Actually deal out wounds? No. It was one of the reasons he had never been on a quest. He couldn’t stomach violence. Defense was one thing, pointless mauling was another. “I just…”

Nico gritted his teeth. “Is this because of what I told you last night? This is exactly why I didn’t want to say anything! I knew things would be different!”

Will scoffed. “What, I’m supposed to pretend everything’s great and dandy? He hurt you!”

“It was over a _year ago,”_ Nico fumed. “I don’t like him that way anymore. I haven’t for a long time! I thought I’d made that pretty obvious last night!”

Will flushed, quite aware of their public setting and how all the campers’ attention seemed to be fixated on him. “Um.”

Nico took a deep breath. “Look, I don’t need my boyfriend to fight my battles for me, all right? What’s done is done.”

Will was fairly certain he was about to go into cardiac arrest. “B… boyfriend?”

Nico’s head snapped up, eyes wild and cheeks dark red when he realized what he’d just said. He opened and closed his mouth a few times. “I… I didn’t say that.”

Will broke into a large grin. “Yes, you did.”

“No, I didn’t. Shut your mouth.”

“You just called me your boyfriend.”

“Shut it right now.”

“Nico di Angelo called me his boyfriend!”

“Will, I _swear_ to _Hades!”_

Will burst into laughter and abandoned his bow in order to pull the flustered demigod into a hug, clinging onto him even as Nico struggled and cursed. “You can call me that all you want!” he exclaimed and released Nico quickly to clear his throat and assume a professional posture. “Of course,” he continued in his best ‘doctor-knows-best’ voice, “there are some conditions.”

Nico looked at him in exasperation, as if torn between wanting to kick Will or kiss him. “Are you serious?”

Will winked. “Always serious, Death Boy. I’m going to have to give you a prescription.”

“…A prescription.”

Will nodded authoritatively, crossing his arms. “Breakfast every morning, at _least_ two kisses a day – one in the morning and one at night – and a weekly date night.”

Nico rolled his eyes but there was a small smile hanging on his face. “And exactly how long are you going to keep this up?”

“There are unlimited refills.”

“Gods… that was _so awful,_ Will. I thought your _father’s_ puns were bad!”

Will just beamed. “You like it. Don’t even lie. By the way, you do realize what I have to do now, right?”

Nico gave him a look like he’d been counting on it. “You’re going to even if I say no, aren’t you?”

“Pretty much.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “If you must.”

Will collected him into the tightest hug he could muster, lifting Nico right off of his feet, and spun around in a half-circle. The campers around them might have broken into excited chitchat, and Nico may or may not have flipped them all off, but Will was too focused on the way their hearts beat together to really pay attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the title and summary finally makes sense, and loose ends are tied up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is suuuper late and, ergo, suuuper long. I think I just didn't want it to end. X3 Anyways, this is the last chapter but there will be an epilogue! (Also, like in chap 5, this chap features both of their POVs.)

Summer was winding down. The season’s end was present all around them – in the air, in the sound of cicadas buzzing, in the dwindling population of campers that were able to return to their parents. Nico thought he’d been prepared for Will’s departure again but, when his boyfriend of one month mentioned that he only had one week left, he had to fight the frown that was pulling at his lips.

“I still have a week!” came Will’s quick attempt to cheer him up. “Besides, this year you’re visiting _way_ more, right? We’ll go on real dates and stuff! My mom would love to cook for you again! She’s always asking about you, you know.”

Nico’s insides squirmed at the thought of having to stomach more of Mrs. Solace’s cooking, but Will had eaten it for sixteen years and survived so he could handle a few dinners to make them happy. Still, it had sucked losing his _friend_ last summer. It hurt even more to be losing his _boyfriend_ this summer.

The seating arrangements at the dining pavilion were lax during the final week. No one seemed to quite care, and Nico was no different. Will and he had claimed the Hades table and watched as their friends joined them one by one. Jason sat down at Nico’s other side with Piper beside him while Percy and Annabeth sat across from them. Clovis, Lou Ellen, and Cecil squeezed in on Will’s end. Nico was certain the Hades table had never had so many living bodies on it.

He listened more than talked, but no one seemed to mind. Every once in a while someone would ask him a question or look at him for support with an inane argument. Jason and Piper were fighting about flowers again while Percy and Clovis seemed to be discussing the possibility of recording dreams. Nico would nod along, make a snide comment or two, but then lean back into Will’s side as the son of Apollo happily traded gossip with Lou Ellen and Annabeth. He hid a grin behind his drink when Will, still chuckling over something Annabeth had said, wrapped an arm around him in order to pull him closer. They shared a smile before going back to their own conversations. Nico glanced at Jason and Piper, who were still yapping on and on about azaleas, and decided to join in with the Dream TV debate.

After dinner, Nico and Will parted from their friends. “Do you _have_ to go to the infirmary tonight?” Nico asked, wrinkling his nose at how _whiney_ he sounded.

Will smiled apologetically at him. “Yeah. The place has to undergo inspection at the beginning and end of summer, and the Counselor for the Apollo cabin is the one that has to do it. Those are the rules.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Rules that you’ve written.”

“I’m having déjà vu right now.”

“I’m pretty sure we fought about this last year.”

“Sounds like us. We’ll probably fight about next year, too.”

Nico’s heart fluttered at the mention of next year, just as it did any time Will spoke of having any sort of a future with him. “And the year after that?”

Will hummed, taking his hand. “Most likely.”

“And the one after that?”

“Well… probably not.”

Nico’s smile faded. “What?”

Will shrugged. “We’ll be too old for camp by then, won’t we? I mean, I’ll be eighteen. I’ll have to relinquish my iron rule to either Austin or Kayla.”

Nico nodded. “I can’t believe it’s Percy and Annabeth’s last year. It’s going to be weird not seeing them.”

“They’ll be around,” Will assured him. “Plus, you’ll see them in New Rome when you visit Hazel and all that.”

“I guess.” Nico squeezed Will’s hand.

“We still have time,” he said softly. “All the time in the world, really.”

Nico chuckled. He’d been doing that a lot lately. Laughing. Smiling. Things he thought he had nearly forgotten how to do. He’d found himself again, however, and had a shining son of Apollo at his side to show for it. “How many times do you think the world is almost going to end by the time we leave camp?”

Will held his chin in mock thought. “Hm. Hard to say. We’ve averaged once per summer since Percy came to camp, but this one’s been completely peaceful. In fact, this is probably my favorite summer here.”

“No wars, no battles, no missing demigods.”

“It _is_ nice,” Will agreed, pulling Nico closer. He ran his knuckles along Nico’s cheek, parting his bangs away from his eyes. “But that isn’t why.”

Nico saw the intent in Will’s eyes and suddenly wished he’d taken a mint after dinner. “Oh?”

Will hummed again, letting their foreheads rest together. “I really have to get to the infirmary.”

Nico sighed. “Fine. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“You got it.” Will pushed a quick kiss goodnight to Nico’s lips. “Night.”

“Don’t stay up too late!” Nico called after him as he slunk away.

Will grinned. “Same goes to you, babe!”

Nico rolled his eyes as his boyfriend ran off then it slowly dawned on him what exactly he had said. _“What_ did you _just call me?!”_

…

Will was at the Hades cabin at the next morning, bouncing on his toes as he knocked rhythmically against the door. He grinned when he heard the characteristic groan from inside the cabin followed by heavy footsteps. A moment later, Nico opened the door. “Go away,” he muttered.

“Good morning to you, too,” Will chuckled. “Wanna go to breakfast?”

“Will, it is seven in the morning. When have I _ever_ gotten up at seven in the morning?”

“Today?” Will tried for a cute pout but got a door slammed in his face again. He huffed and started to knock. “Nico! Rude!”

“Need sleep,” his boyfriend called out.

Will shook his head up at the dreary sky. It was cold for August, and the heavy clouds looked ready to start raining down on them at any moment. He wanted to get breakfast before getting caught in it. He hadn’t realized he’d showed up so early. “Nico, c’mon, get yo butt up!”

“Ugh. Stop talking like that!”

Smirking, Will prepped himself to start knocking once more when a single, fat raindrop smacked against his cheek. He squeaked and, without waiting for his lazy-ass boyfriend to let him in, slipped inside. Nico was already back in bed, giving him a death glare. “It’s raining,” Will defended.

A smug grin appeared on Nico’s tired features. “You really are like a cat,” he mumbled sleepily and burrowed back into his sheets.

Will tilted his head to the side. “I’m a what?”

“Never mind.”

Will smirked and snuck over with the intention of scooping Nico up and being an overall pain. As he towered over Nico, puffing out his cheeks and praying for a swift death as he raised his arms, Nico’s leg flashed out of his nest of blankets, kneeing him right in the gut. Will groaned and plopped forward onto the bed, half-laughing, half-sobbing as he held his stomach. “Jerk.”

He was pretty sure Nico chuckled underneath all his covers. Once the pain subsided, Will sidled up beside him and poked where he estimated Nico’s head to be. “You’re not getting up, are you?”

Nico grunted.

Will sighed and looked out the window. The thick curtains were parted ever-so-slightly, allotting for a sliver of a view of the sky. It was still only slightly drizzling, but a low rumble of thunder sounded in the distance. “Fine, fine.” He poked Nico again. “At least come out of your hobbit hole?”

“I don’t trust you.”

“Nico, that hurts.”

“No, I know how you work. All cute and innocent at first. It’s all an act.”

 _“Please?”_ A moment of silence and then Nico emerged, like a turtle coming out of his shell. Will offered him a sweet little smile. “Hi.”

Nico peered suspiciously at him. “Hello…”

Will propped himself up on one elbow. “What time did you go to bed?”

Nico shrugged with one shoulder. “One? Two? You?”

“Two-thirty.”

“Ugh.” His nose wrinkled. “You morning people sicken me.” Will opened his mouth to comment but Nico cut him off. “Make a stupid medical pun out of that and you’re getting kicked out of bed.”

Will promptly shut his mouth again. He glanced around the cabin and realized that he hadn’t been in it since Nico started his grand renovation project. Most of the terrible décor had been removed, boxed, and disposed of, leaving the majority of the cabin empty. It was a work in progress, and Will wondered if it would be finished by the time he returned next summer. It seemed so far away, much longer than a year. He never liked leaving camp, but now he didn’t want to go at all. Even with all of Nico’s promises to visit and to actually write letters, Will’s chest tightened every time he thought of his departure.

He watched Nico sleep for a few seconds, gently brushing a stray chunk of black hair out of his face. Nico’s lips twitched, betraying him, and Will grinned. “Can I at least have a kiss hello?”

Nico hummed in thought. “The deal was once in the morning and once in the night. It’s not morning yet.”

Will snorted. “It’s seven o’clock now. As in A.M.”

“It’s stupid o’clock. As in Shut Up.” Even as he said it, Nico opened his eyes and was tilting his head up. Will wasn’t stupid, no matter how often Nico said it, and leaned in quickly. Nico was correct, however, about another one of personality traits. He was stubborn. Just before their lips touched, Will ducked down and blew a raspberry into Nico’s jaw, earning him an ear-deafening squawk and a smack to the side of his head. _“WILL!”_

Will laughed as he rolled out of bed and started running, tossing Nico a triumphant grin as the son of Hades burst out of the cabin a moment later and started running after him.

…

By the time they’d finished eating, it was pouring. Beyond an unamused ‘I told you so’ glare, Nico didn’t say anything to Will, who was busy lamenting over the lack of an umbrella. They stood on the porch of the Big House, watching the rain. Will was praying to his father, but there had not been any a single peep or haiku from the sun god since the war with Gaea ended.

Will sighed. “Right, well, I’m heading off to the infirmary. I’ll see you later.”

“Sure.”

Will sniffled, striking a pitiful expression. He clasped one of Nico’s hands in both of his. “If I don’t make it, promise me you'll stay strong!"

Nico bit back a laugh as Will darted out into the rain, cursing in Ancient Greek, and ran to the back, where the infirmary entrance was. He glanced back up at the sky once he was gone and leaned back against the post. He wondered what to do. He could find Jason, but he was leaving soon so he’d probably want to be with Piper. Percy was out. He and Annabeth were too busy talking with Grover and reliving all the summers spent at Camp Half-Blood. He didn’t want to intrude on that. He hadn’t exactly always been a welcome sight over the years, after all. It was water under the bridge, forgotten and forgiven, but Nico still felt a sliver of shame when he thought about the Labyrinth and all the mistakes he’d made after. He could Iris message Hazel, but he still wasn’t fully recovered from his last talk with her nearly a month ago.

_“Nico? It’s really early. What’s wrong?”_

_Nico gulped down his nerves, suddenly wishing he’d taken up Will’s offer to talk to her together. Still, it was something he had to do personally. It was his sister and she deserved to hear it from him. “Sorry… I just… I need to tell you something.”_

_Hazel was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, crawling out of bed in order to get a better look at him. Her hair was fluffier on one side than the other from turning in bed. Her pajamas were flannel even though it had to be much hotter there than Camp Half-Blood. “Sure, Nico. What is it?”_

_The rehearsed words in Nico’s head simply vanished._ Hazel, I’m dating Will Solace. _That was all he needed to say. He could do it. Hazel was Hazel. She wouldn’t scorn him. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get his voice out. He shut his mouth again and stared down at the floor._

_“Nico,” Hazel said gently, “was is it? Did something happen? Are you okay?”_

_Nico nodded. “I-I’m just fine. I…”_

_“Is everyone else okay?”_

_“Yeah. Everything’s good. More than good. In fact, I… I called to say that I… I’ve…” Nico groaned and slapped his forehead. “I’m dating someone.”_

_Hazel’s smile was as wide as her eyes. “Really? Nico, that’s great! Who is it?”_

_Moment of truth. Nico took in a deep breath. “Hazel, I’m dating Will Solace!” he let out quickly and quickly squeezed his eyes shut to avoid seeing her reaction._

_There a little pause. “..And why do you look like you’re in pain when you say that?”_

_Nico peeked open one eye. “You… you don’t mind?”_

_“What?”_

_“That I’m dating him?”_

_Hazel gave a little snort. “Why would_ I _mind?”_

 _That was not the reaction he’d been expecting. In fact, that wasn’t much of a reaction at all. Nico gaped at his sister, half in awe and half in disbelief. He could only assume that she hadn’t heard him correctly. “I’m dating_ HIM.”

_Hazel raised an eyebrow. “Yeah. Will. I heard you. I think that’s great.”_

_“So you… you don’t care that I’m… that’s HE’s…”_

_“Nico,” Hazel shook her head, “you’re my brother. I don’t care if you date a harpy if it makes you happy.”_

_“Still…”_

_Hazel smiled. “It was a little obvious how you kept talking about him all last summer. Then, not to mention, you shadow-travelled across the country to see him when you thought he was sick, and Percy’s been telling us all sorts of stories—”_

_“I’m going to kill him,” Nico hissed._

_“What I’m trying to say is that you don’t need to ever worry about telling me things, Nico. I’m your sister, I love you, and, as Hades kids, we’re both a little used to doing things a little differently.”_

_Nico let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Hazel – I – thank you.”_

_Hazel winked. “Now you have to come visit us. And bring Will!”_

_“I’ll see what I can do.”_

_“He’s treating you right, right?”_

_Nico rolled his eyes. “He’s… he’s Will.”_

_“And that means…?”_

_“It means I’m happy. He makes me happy.”_

“Hey, Nico.” Clovis emerged from the big house, stifling a yawn behind his hand.

Nico turned, arms folded against his chest. “Oh, hey, Clovis. What’s up?”

“Just woke up.” Clovis stretched out. His spine gave a quick _pop_ that even made Nico grimace.

“The cabin counselor meeting ended twenty minutes ago.”

Clovis shrugged. “Yeah. I’m hungry. You wanna grab lunch?”

Nico was about to decline then changed his mind and shrugged. “Sure.”

They darted out into the rain and met Lou Ellen on her way. Nico invited her along and soon the three of them were trudging through the soppy grass towards the dining pavilions. For a moment, Nico trailed behind and a large wave of contentment washed over him. Since when had he had friends like this? People he could just approach casually and effortlessly?

“Nico, hurry up! We don’t want you melting!” Lou Ellen called over her shoulder.

“Shut up,” Nico called back before jogging to catch up to his friends.

…

It rained straight through the day and into the night. Will ducked underneath Kayla’s umbrella as they left the infirmary. It was the upside of having his siblings work with him – he could impose on them from time to time. The downside, however, was that it placed him right in the prime position to have his ear chewed off with drama. Kayla, though talented with archery and music, wasn’t very confident in her healing abilities. “Medically-Challenged” was what she called it. Will assured her again and again as they walked through camp, half-listening, until he spotted the lights on in the Hades cabin.

“Hey, Kayla, I’ve got to ask Nico something,” Will said quickly, abandoning his spot under the umbrella, which was quickly filled in by another one of his brothers. “I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

Kayla raised her eyebrows as they approached the Apollo cabin’s door. “Yeah. Sure. I bet.”

Will decided to ignore her little jab and skittered over to the Hades cabin, knocking quickly at the door. He only had to wait a few seconds before it opened. Nico was already in his pajamas – a pair of black and grey plaid pants and an overlarge camp t-shirt that Will recognized as one of his own. When had he gotten ahold of that? “Oh.” Nico stepped to the side, letting Will in at once. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself,” Will said as he walked in. “You have a thing for stealing clothes, don’t you?” Nico made an affronted noise and Will dodged his playful swat with ease. He toed off his shoes and made to sit down on the unmade bed.

“Don’t even think about it!” Nico pulled him back and pointed to the empty bunk in the corner. “I don’t want a water-print of your ass on my bed.”

Will choked on a laugh and obeyed. It was easier than dealing with a flustered son of Hades, after all. He bounced a bit as he sat and yawned. “So… how was your day?”

Nico shrugged. Surprisingly, instead of sitting in his own bed, he crawled in next to Will and brought his knees up to his chest. “It was all right. I ended up playing cards with Lou Ellen and Clovis in the Hypnos cabin, but Lou kept changing the numbers on the cards so she always won.”

“Clever girl,” Will chuckled.

“Yeah. What about you?”

“Ugh, it was really slow at the infirmary. We had a few younger campers come in with a split lip or a stoved finger.” He gave a long suffering sigh and let his head droop onto Nico’s shoulder. “I had a lot of time to think.”

“That’s dangerous,” Nico said. “What about?”

Will thought his words over for a second. “What would you say if I invited you to come with me at the end of the summer?”

He felt Nico’s shoulder tense up underneath him and he sat up to look at Nico’s reaction. The son of Hades looked surprised but not at all as scared as Will had worried he would. “What?” Nico asked.

“Yeah. I still have a week of summer left after my mom picks me up. You could spend it with us. I’ll show you all the awesome spots in town. We’ll go on actual dates. My mom has already extended the invitation to stay whenever you’d like. It would be great!”

Nico thought it over deeply for a few moments. “I don’t… I wouldn’t want to…”

“You wouldn’t be a bother, if that’s what you’re worried about. Like I said, Mom is nuts about you.” Nico was playing with the drawstrings on his pants. Will reached down and held his hands. Nico’s eyes reluctantly met his. “And I won’t be mad if you say no. I just wanted to make the offer. You’ve always got a place with us, Nico.”

Suddenly, Nico looked visibly upset and Will wondered if he had made a horrible mistake. He almost opened his mouth to apologize, but he found himself with an armful of Nico, who’d buried his head in his chest. “Okay…” he muttered, and Will found it so adorable he couldn’t help the dorky smile that lit up his face. He kissed the top of his head and hugged him tight.

“You won’t regret it,” he promised.

…

The rain had finally lifted. Nico groaned as a sharp ray of sunlight stung his eyes as he opened his door. He hadn’t missed that.

The ground was still soft beneath his boots and he grimaced at the mud sticking to the soles. His head kept turning up to the clouds, watching them tumble slowly, and wasn’t entirely watching where he was going when he slammed into something hard. He slipped on some mud while trying to regain his balance and ended up falling back.

“Oops.” A hand flew down to help Nico up. “Sorry, Nico.”

Nico took the proffered hand, which hoisted him up to his feet again, and glared. “I know you’re upset about no longer being the top dog at camp, Jackson, but do you really have to resort to bullying?”

Percy clapped Nico on the shoulder. “Ha-ha. You think you can fill in my shoes?”

Nico smirked. “I think it’s already done.”

“Puh-lease! I could take your boney butt any day!”

“As long as we’re near water, which,” Nico made a show of spinning in a circle, arms wide, “I don’t see much of.  Unless you count that little puddle over there.”

Percy chuckled. “I could take you out with _half_ of that puddle, Little Man!”

Nico’s eye twitched. Little Man? “Watch it, Ariel.”

“Ah, I see Will’s got you watching the Disney movies.” Percy nodded in approval.

The smile finally broke through his façade and, like that, both demigods were laughing. A year ago, Nico would never thought he’d be able to speak to Percy so freely, so casually, but there he was. Sure, it was still a little awkward, and Nico’s face was going to get stuck if he kept smiling so much, but every day he felt more and more of his old self returning to him. Only, now, he was stronger, wiser, better. The nightmares still came, the doubt that these good feelings would last still lingered, but – for the moment – he was all right.

“Anyway, now I have to go change.” Nico glanced down at himself.

“Yeah. Get that mud-butt outta here,” Percy teased.

“Shut it, or I _will_ get my sword.”

Percy raised an eyebrow. “Yanno, we’ve never actually sparred before. And it’s my last day.”

Nico copied him. “Do you really want your ass kicked that bad?”

“We’ll see, di Angelo.”

As it happened, they never actually got to spar. Nico went back to his cabin to change quickly before meeting up with Will for breakfast. In his rush, he tripped over a box of packed up plastic torches, which he’d meant to throw away ages ago, and something in his wrist popped when he tried to catch himself. Nico cursed but figured that if he could still move it then he was fine. He hurried to meet his boyfriend.

“Hey,” Will greeted, in his jeans and flip-flops and green surgeon’s shirt, as he clambered down the Apollo cabin’s steps to meet him.

“Morning,” Nico answered.

Will reached for Nico’s hand – as he was wont to do – and immediately his eyes narrowed when Nico hissed in pain. “What did you do?” Will demanded.

“Nothing.”

Will observed his wrist delicately, as if handling broken glass. “It’s swelling.”

Nico bit the inside of his cheek. “I… uh… tripped while trying to change my pants.”

“Change your pants…?”

He sighed. “Before that I fell in the mud.”

Will gave an amused bark of laughter. “Not your day, is it, sunshine?”

“Shut up.”        

“Come on. I’ll wrap it up.”

“Ugh. Can’t we get breakfast first?”

“Nope! Breakfast isn’t going anywhere.”

Nico rolled his eyes but didn’t fight it any further. It was better for everyone if they played into Will’s insatiable, almost paternal, need to take care of something. It was what drew Nico to him in the first place, after all, but sometimes he got carried away. Case in point? Nico’s entire right arm was wrapped in tight bandaging, right up to his elbow. Nico wondered if it was his fatal flaw. Will would help someone even if it meant putting himself in danger.

Will finished off with a quick kiss to Nico’s knuckles. They ended up staying in the infirmary for most of the day, talking with the Apollo cabin and whoever wandered in. For dinner, they were joined by the usual group, but there was a much more somber tone to their conversations. There was much more reminiscing and stories. Even Nico felt a bit nostalgic.

“We’ll definitely be visiting,” Percy asserted again and again. “This isn’t goodbye.”

“We couldn’t ever fully leave this place behind,” Annabeth agreed.

Eventually, they all went their separate ways. Nico and Will wandered over to the cabins, unsure what to do next. “Can’t believe summer’s over already,” Will mused. “It kind of sucks.”

Nico couldn’t help but agree. “Yeah.”

Will smiled. “At least we get another week together.”

Nico blew a piece of his hair out of his eyes. He was going to have to get it cut again soon. “Right. I still have to pack for that.”

“I can help,” Will offered. “You’re useless at organizing.”

“I have my own method of organization. I know where everything is so don’t touch it.”

Will poked him in the side, which made Nico flinch, and grinned cheekily before becoming strangely quiet. “Hey… do you remember last summer? That time when we found each other just as the sun was coming up?”

Nico nodded, not entirely sure where the conversation was going. “Yeah? What about it?”

“I’m just curious… did you like me then?”

Nico glanced up but Will was watching the grass shyly. He scoffed and scratched his cheek. “I-I don’t know. I mean… I wasn’t even sure if you were… you know.”

Will smiled, looking more like his annoying self. “But did you _like me?”_ He took Nico’s hands and shook them back and forth quickly until Nico let out an airy laugh.

“I didn’t think you were _bad,”_ he compromised. “What about you?”

Will hummed. “I think I’ve always sort of had a crush on you.”

Nico scoffed. “Really?”

“What can I say? You know how to play that dark and mysterious card.”

“Card? I don’t have any cards. I’m just… I’m just _me.”_

Will squeezed his hand. “Maybe that’s why, then.”

Nico stared at him for a few moments. “What brought that up anyways?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’m kinda bummed summer’s ending. I liked that, you know? Just you and me, watching the sky.”

Nico gave a little shrug. “Well… we still one more day.”

“So?”

Nico tugged him along the greens, towards the little spot that they had so often occupied last summer. “So come and watch the sunset with me?”

…

Will was just finishing up packing when he felt a strange presence at his back. He glanced over his shoulder several times, expecting to see someone, but his cabin was empty. He shook himself, trying to block out the creepy feeling that he was being watched, and went back to double-checking his bags.

“Toothbrush? Check,” he murmured under his breath. “Hoodie?” He dug through his duffle and sighed in defeat. “Gods damn it, Nico.” He was going to run out of clothing soon if his bandit for a boyfriend kept it up.

He slung his two duffles over his shoulder and prepped to go meet Nico by the front gates. He took one last swift glance around his cabin and, just as he placed his palm on the door, felt a surge of warmth rush through him. The sun shone brightly through the windows, coming down in beams on him.

_“Nice catch, son.”_

Will froze and spun around, but the sudden light was already dissipating. He blinked into a smile. “Thanks, Dad.”

…

“See you, man.” Percy clasped Nico’s hand. “You’ll be at New Rome soon, yeah?”

“Hazel’s been nagging for Will and me to visit.” Nico sighed. “So I’m sure.”

“Cool.”

“Yeah.”

Annabeth, who was carrying a large suitcase, pulled Nico into a one-armed hug. “Then we’ll definitely see you soon.”

Nico nodded in agreement. “Good luck at college, you guys.”

“And good luck with… whatever it is you’re doing.”

Nico shrugged. “More quests, probably. Plus, my father has been sending me these really weird messages. I think he gets bored in the summer.”

“Yeah, especially since we didn’t even lose one camper this year. I bet it’s _really dead_ down there.” Percy snorted. Annabeth mouthed an apology at Nico, who shook his head. The scariest part was that he was pretty sure his father would actually _like_ those puns.

“Percy!” A woman ran forward and collected Percy into a tight hug. She had long brown hair with a few grey streaks and kind blue eyes. She started pushing kisses all over Percy’s face. “I missed you.”

“Mom, Mom!” Percy groaned, shying away. “C’mon! I’m eighteen!”

“I can’t help it. Last summer you disappeared and I had no idea—”

“Sally, give the boy a break.” A man came forward and placed a hand on Percy’s shoulder. “He’s deserved one.”

“Oh, uh, Mom, Paul, you guys remember Nico, right?” Percy gestured towards him.

“Oh, yes! You’re the one that showed up in our apartment with that dog.” Sally Jackson reached out her hand and Nico tentatively shook it, feeling a bit out of place. Percy’s mother was kind and Nico caught a whiff of chocolate or maybe liquorice. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“Yeah,” Nico said awkwardly. “You, too.”

“Nico!”

He turned and Will trotted up to him. “My mom just got here so we should hurry – oh.” His smile turned sheepish as he spotted Percy’s parents. “Hello.”

“Mom, Paul, this is Will Solace,” Percy introduced. “He’s the best healer we’ll ever have. He’s also Nico’s boyfriend.”

Paul’s eyebrows shot up in surprise but Sally’s smile became even warmer. “It’s very nice to meet you, Will.”

“Likewise.” Will shook her hand. “Percy’s always talking about you.”

Percy waved his hands and shook his head desperately, mouthing, _“No! No!”_ but the damage had been done. Sally collected him into a hug again.

“Oh, you’re so sweet!” She kissed his cheek again. Percy was staring up at the clouds, as if praying to his uncle to strike him down right then and there. “All right, is this everything? Paul, help Annabeth with her bags?”

“Sure thing.” Paul took the large suitcase. “You kids ready?”

Percy and Annabeth laced their hands together as they stared back at Camp Half-Blood. “Yeah,” he sighed. “It’s just so weird. We’re actually leaving this time.”

“Not forever,” Annabeth reminded.

“We should go, too,” Will said. “Got your stuff?”

“All right here.” Nico nudged the duffle at his feet.

“Cool.” He turned back to Percy and Annabeth. “Have a good year, guys, and visit soon, okay?”

“You got it.”

They said their goodbyes and Nico followed Will over to where his mother was waiting. Nico was surprised, but pleasantly so, when Mrs. Solace beamed and hugged Nico tightly, pushing a kiss to his cheek. “There he is! Oh, Will was right! You _have_ grown!”

“Mom!” Will whined, covering his red face in embarrassment.

Mrs. Solace laughed and hugged Will next. “There’s my boy! How was your summer?”

“The best,” Will answered automatically.

“Good. And what about you, Nico?”

“What he said.” Nico rubbed his arm. “Um, thank you for letting me stay with you guys.”

“It’s absolutely no trouble.” Mrs. Solace popped the trunk and they threw their bags inside. “I was thinking something fast for dinner.”

“Nico would kill for McDonald’s,” Will interjected, missing the glare the son of Hades shot at him.

Mrs. Solace laughed. “McDonald’s it is, then. Also, I invited a bunch of people up for Friday. Aunt Clara and your grandparents and all your cousins will be there.”

Will glanced at Nico worriedly. “Um… I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Nonsense,” Mrs. Solace chided. “I think it would be nice to introduce Nico to the family since he’s a part of it now.”

“She talks like we’re married,” Will muttered. “Sorry about this.”

Nico shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I… actually wouldn’t mind meeting your family.”

Will grinned. “Really? They’re all pretty much like me, you know.”

“As terrifying as that sounds, I’m sure I’ll survive.”

Will opened the car door for him. “Then, after you, milord.”

“Dork.” Nico crawled in and Will shut the door before going to sit in the front with his mother. They were just about to move when a loud shout startled them.

_“WAIT!”_

Nico glanced out the window to see Jason Grace running way towards them far too quickly than should have been possible. He rolled his eyes. “Can you hold on a second?” Nico asked Mrs. Solace, who nodded with an amused smile.

Nico unbuckled himself and got back out just as Jason approached them. “Dude!” Jason panted, holding his chest. “Leaving without saying goodbye. Cruel!”

Nico held up his hands in confusion. “I _just_ saw you at breakfast. We said goodbye then.”

“Yeah, but that wasn’t _goodbye-goodbye!”_ Jason took a deep breath. “Who knows when we’ll see each other next?”

“Probably sooner than I want,” Nico teased and Jason punched him playfully on the shoulder.

“Whatever. Just watch yourself, all right? Also, Piper told me to throw in a hug for her.”

Nico tilted his head to the side before sighing. “Make it quick, will you?”

Jason grinned and embraced him. “Okay, okay.” He pulled back. “Sorry. I’m just really happy for you. It’s nice to see you so upbeat now and not stuck in your eternal night mode. I swear, if I wanted to talk to you I used to have to wait until midnight.”

Nico just shook his head and opened the car door again. He could hear Will and his mother already singing along to some pop song. It was going to be a _long_ car ride, but one he wouldn’t mind having. “Well, that’s the thing about midnight,” he said, “it doesn’t last forever.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all SO VERY MUCH for sticking with this fic all this time! <3 The epilogue will be up soon!
> 
> TBC.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is a happy ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final update! I really can't thank you all enough. It's been one heck of a ride, and I hope you've all had as much fun reading as I've had writing. ♡

_ Four Years Later  
Seattle, WA _

.

Nico glared at the confusing text. His brain tried to scramble them into Ancient Greek and failed. He bit his lower lip and focused, looking past the distracting, dizzying blur of words. He groaned and let his head fall to the table with a _clunk._ He was tempted to go to the Underworld, find the demented ancient Greek that invented math, and throw his notebook at him. But, that would require moving, which was something he didn't exactly care to do right then.

Besides, he’d only get an earful later from the old ball and chain if he left without warning. Again.

He looked around the cozy apartment that he’d lived in for almost a year. It was small but it was home. As instructed, Nico had it furnished with the comfiest couches and chairs he could find with overstuffed pillows and lots of afghans. While Nico didn’t mind the cold the winter brought, his boyfriend was undeniably weak against the chill. The walls were a bright color and the rest of the décor was rather beachy and relaxed. It screamed the classic first-time homeowner couple vibe. Again, Nico had pretty much lost all rights to decorate, having been told that if he did everyone would be too afraid to come in.

Nico admitted there was a point to be made there.

He didn’t particularly mind in any case. He liked the open-feel of the apartment. It was like it was always summer there, just like his sunny boyfriend.

He took a sip of coffee and glared back at the arithmetic on his table, which should be holding platefuls of Nico’s almost-famous arrays of pasta dishes and over-the-top desserts and not brain-torturing math. He almost gave up and marched to the fridge, where no doubt there was some ice cream or popsicles hidden away – a certain blonde would never let them run out of his beloved frozen treats – but then his attention was captured by the faded photograph held in place by a moon magnet.

Nico barely recognized himself in the photo. He wondered if he had ever really been that pale or that thin. Even if it was only four years ago, it felt like a lifetime. But, what really drew his attention was the person beside Nico. Will Solace was beaming up at him, arm wrapped around Nico tightly. He looked so much younger – lankier and less muscular – but the smile and eyes were the same as they had always been, warm and kind.

Just the sight of them together was enough to spike Nico’s determination. He bent over his homework again and picked up his pencil, scribbling down the page as he worked out the problem step by step.

As he was finishing, he felt two strong arms close around his shoulders and immediately relaxed into them, breaking into a smile. A pair of lips took the opportunity to pepper kisses all along his jaw. Nico grumbled, “You need to shave.”

Will laughed and nuzzled Nico’s cheek, letting the scruff tickle him. Nico half-heartedly tried to push him off, but Will just held him closer and kissed the corner of his mouth. “Are you still doing work?”

“Almost done.”

Will started to massage his shoulders. “Look at my nerd working so hard so late!”

“What can I say? You must have finally rubbed off on me. _Ow,_ that felt good.”

Will snorted and applied more pressure to the knot in Nico’s shoulder. “So tense.”

“Blame Pythagoras and his theorems,” Nico muttered, eyes fluttering shut.

“Ah, good ole geometry. Can I help?”

Nico shook his head. “I’m all right. There’s just a lot of it.”

Will kissed his temple. “Still proud of you. Getting your GED. I think it’s a fantastic idea.”

“You thought bubblegum toothpaste was a fantastic idea,” he teased.

“Mmhm.” Will kept rubbing Nico’s back, periodically pushing kisses wherever his lips could find skin. “You’ve been at it for hours. Why don’t you just come to bed and finish it in the morning?”

“Because then you’ll just convince me to do it later and later until it never gets done at all.” Nico reluctantly pulled away from Will’s persistent distractions. “I know how you work.”

He knew Will was pouting even though he couldn’t see him. “Jerk.”

“Spoiled brat.”

“At least kiss me goodnight?”

Nico shook his head in exasperation but nonetheless turned his head to meet Will’s lips in a quick chaste kiss. “Satisfied?”

“Not even a bit,” Will replied, leaning in for a second quick peck. “But a deal’s a deal.”

Nico grinned. Four years together and they were still making deals and bets. Some things never changed. He waved Will away, trying to salvage his attempts at finishing his homework. “Buzz off, already.”

Will chuckled and slunk away, but instead of leaving he moved to the counter and fixed himself a cup of coffee. He yawned as he trotted back over and sat down beside Nico. He let his head rest on Nico’s shoulder with a hum. “Simplify your fractions,” he reminded sleepily.

Nico scowled and erased. “What’s the point of even knowing this stuff?”

Will shrugged. “To melt your brain, probably.”

He huffed. “Did you put sugar in that?” He pointed at the mug nestled in Will’s hands.

“Nope.”

“Good.” He snatched it away and took a sip before blanching. “Ugh. Maybe you should have.”

Will laughed. “That’s what you get, you thief.” He probably didn’t even notice Nico’s deep glare. He just sighed and took his mug back. “Any idea what you want to do after you pass your test?”

“ _If_ I pass.”

Will reached up and pinched his cheek. “You _will_ pass. For the thousandth time.”

“I haven’t taken a test since 1940. A lot’s changed.”

“And you’re adaptable, smart, and determined. You’ll do fine.”

Nico blew out a long breath but felt another surge of confidence at Will’s words. Will always had that effect on him; reminded him exactly who he was and where he belonged. It was remarkable how much they had both changed over the years. The war with Gaea seemed like a distant dream, an old memory that still had scars, still brought pain sometimes, but Nico had found himself again. Will had been a large driving factor for that. He had patiently sat night after night, rubbing Nico’s back and whispering endearments as Nico worked to separate reality from his nightmares. Nico tried to do the same even though he wasn’t nearly as good at comforting as his boyfriend, but it seemed to work.

He didn’t give much thought to the future. He hadn’t thought he would even reach nineteen, let alone be with someone that was completely willing to share the years with him. It still made him feel a bit weak in the knees from time to time when he would walk into the apartment and find Will collapsed on the couch, textbooks in hand, asleep. Just the fact that he was _there_ , that they were sharing a life _together,_ filled Nico with a sense of completeness he never anticipated to have.

Nico thought about what he might want to do. He couldn’t very well let Will be the only one that worked, even if he wanted to become a full-fledged doctor one day. He had a lot of experience helping Will in the infirmary during their camp days, and figured he might as well tag along with that. He risked a glance at Will’s curious face and smirked. “Well, what about something medical? I could be, like, a nurse or something. You still have that uniform, don’t you?”

As Nico had suspected, a red blush filled Will’s face. “A n-nurse?”

“Oh my _gods!_ I always _knew_ you had a nurse kink!”

“What?” Will sat up. He was so red that Nico couldn’t even see his freckles anymore. “I-I do not!”

Nico burst into laughter. “A _nurse,_ of all things! What other fetishes do you have?”

“Shut up!” Will buried his head in his arms. “It’s not like that at all!”

Nico rested his hand on top of Will’s head. “Never said it was a bad thing, you know. Halloween is coming up anyways.”

Will peered out from his arms suspiciously. “Oh?” The raw curiosity in his voice made Nico crack up again. Will flew to his feet. “That’s it! I’m going to bed.”

Nico shook his head. He wasn’t going to apologize. “Good. You’re distracting me.” He dodged Will’s half-hearted swat.

“Don’t be too long,” Will murmured before walking out of the kitchen. Nico turned to watch him saunter down the hall. His breath caught in his throat when he saw Will toss him a suggestive look over his shoulder just before disappearing into their bedroom.

Nico shook his head before trying to focus on his work. He took one glimpse of the problem and quickly realized he wasn’t going to finish this assignment tonight. _Dammit, Will._

_“Working hard, I see.”_

The sudden voice nearly made Nico jump right out of his skin. His hand upset the mug of coffee Will had left behind and he hastened to stable it before it could stain his homework. He glanced up and was surprised – and also not – to see Hades standing in his kitchen, observing the cartoony magnets in apparent confusion.

Nico blew out an exhale. It wasn’t the first time his father had popped in unexpectedly – won’t be the last, either – but Nico found his ‘routine check-ins’ unnecessary. Then again, Nico would prefer that his father showed up instead of an indentured spirit or zombie. Once, Will had run into the living room, shouting that they were literal skeletons in their closet and Nico had to intervene, feeling a bit like a concerned parent while Will pouted behind him.

“Do I even want to ask why you’re here?” Nico grumbled, dropping his pencil.

“I’m not here to recruit you,” Hades grumbled. “I’ve got Hazel doing some chores while you catch up with… with this.” He gestured to the schoolwork on the table.

Nico, remembering exactly the sorts of ‘chores’ Hades used to give, winced. “Is she okay?”

“It’s nothing she can’t handle.” Hades eyed the kitchen critically. He slid a long finger along the counter, checked it for dust, and seemed satisfied. “You’re serious about this.”

Nico shrugged. “Looks like it.”

“…And the Apollo sprout?”

“Will,” Nico replied tiredly, “is great.”

Hades nodded – two decisive bobs – before straightening the tie. He had the classic funeral-director-look, as he always donned when in the mortal world. Nico wondered what had really brought his father up of his throne and into his apartment, but Hades simply continued to look around the kitchen. Then, as if struck by an idea, he opened the fridge, and then closed it again.

“What’re you…?” Nico trailed off as Hades checked the freezer. “Are you… are you doing an _inspection?”_

“Why do you have so many…?” Hades glared at a cardboard box in his pale hands. _“Freez-E Pops?”_

Nico flushed. “They’re Will’s.”

“Does he really need _three boxes?”_ Hades hummed. “I don’t see much fruit.”

Nico let out a scoff in disbelief. “What—?”

“Perhaps I should lend you my cook.” Hades rubbed his chin. “I had no idea mortal values on food have dropped so severely.”

“You are _not_ resurrecting Chef Boyardee in my kitchen.”

Hades hummed, obviously not going to give Nico a single say in the matter. Nico sighed and wondered if he would awake to a zombie flipping pancakes in the morning. He’d woken up to stranger things, he supposed.

“Dad,” Nico huffed, which surprised the both of them. It was always ‘Father’ or ‘Hades’. Never ‘Dad’. Nico half-expected to either get sent straight to the Underworld or be subjected to the embarrassment of a lifetime.

However, Hades simply stared at his son for a few moments before giving a cut nod. “Fine. No zombies.”

Nico groaned. He didn’t need another ‘want-to-know-my-son’ thing. He still hadn’t recovered from their last bonding trip, which were, unfortunately, becoming more and more common. Hazel said before that Hades missed how often Nico used to stay in the Underworld, but the thought was so preposterous that Nico couldn’t even entertain it. “You couldn’t stop by during the day to ransack the cupboards?”

“There’s something else,” Hades said. “I want you to come to dinner. Bring the boy.”

“Will,” Nico corrected again, “and, he can’t eat food from the Underworld.”

“I’ll have something made for him.”

Nico blinked. Gods, was he hearing this all correctly? Hades didn’t actually _miss him_ , right? He wondered what Will would even say to such an invitation. “I’ll… bring it up,” he said.

His father nodded. “Well, you seem to have everything under control. I just… wanted to be sure.”

He raised an eyebrow and asked in a self-deprecating tone, “And the last eighty years didn’t prove anything but that?”

Hades copied him. “I still can’t ever tell if you’re joking or not.”

Nico’s lips twitched upwards. “I am your son, after all.”

Something in Hades’s frozen eyes seemed to melt just a smidgen. “You are indeed.” Then he cleared his throat. “Anyways, I’ll wait for your answer.”

“Right.”

Hades nodded once more then – Nico wasn’t sure if he was even surprised – reached back into the freezer to snatch one Freez-E Pop.

“I’m going to get blamed for that, you know,” Nico muttered and Hades just shrugged and patted Nico awkwardly on the shoulder before disappearing altogether.

Nico reclined against his chair and rubbed his temples. Awkward exchanges like that had become almost a norm for him but not at all unwelcome. Their communication skills could still use some work, but, at the very least, Nico could talk to his father without feeling the slightest urge to kick him where it hurt most. He remembered another conversation they had – had it really been five years? – at the old monastery in Portugal and shook his head. Back then, he hadn’t even allowed himself the privilege to think about his future. He wished he could go back in time, to those days he was simply wasting away, and tell himself, _“Hey, guess what? You’ll actually be happy one day.”_

A wave of contentment settled over him as he thought about his friends, his sister, even his father, and his boyfriend. His _family_. Perhaps he really would ask Will about having dinner with Hades. Maybe if he brought Hazel and Frank along it wouldn’t be as intimidating. Still might give him nightmares for a few weeks, but nothing _too_ traumatic.

He sighed.

But for right now…

Nico decided that procrastinating one little homework assignment wasn’t going to kill him. He stood up quickly, the legs of his chair scrapping loudly against the tiled floor, and walked to his bedroom, where – as he always had been – Will Solace was waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE END.
> 
> Ah, okay, it's over. I'm not crying. ;^; Thank you all so much for reading this far. I'm on tumblr now so if you have a question/want to chat find me on there!
> 
> tumblr - [ghostystarr](http//:ghostystarr.tumblr.com)


End file.
